The Waiting Ones
by The Nerdfighter
Summary: Leo knew the burden him and his brothers shared. He understood that because of what they were, not every human was going to accept them for their appearances. But when Casey's cousin, Sam comes to live in New York, will Leo and his brothers finally get what they've been waiting for all these years? Rated M mostly for language and sexual references in later chapters
1. Prologue

**Author's Note****: **Greetings people of the fanfic cyberverse! :D

Holy cow, it's been a while since I actually posted anything on this site. I know, I know, I still have other incomplete stories I really need to update on. (Sorry for those who are waiting for me to add on to my current Danny Phantom/Teen Titans story. I promise I'll add to it soon TwT) But, if you're like me and have been keeping up with the new TMNT cartoon series that Nickelodean just released last fall like it's your mission, then you should understand why I kind of pushed my other fics to the side and started up this one.

Btw, this is my first ever TMNT fic. Well, my first one that actually got posted on this site. So be kind. TwT I'm always open to criticism, but no flames, please. :P Also! This story was heavily inspired by fanfic author, **GirlyGeek** and her story "Life Changes". If you haven't read it, go read it. It's an incredibly adorable fic. :3 Also let me know if you find way too many similarities. I tried really, REALLY hard to make my story not sound too much like **GirlyGeek**'s since it was inspired by her story, but just to be sure, please someone who has read "Life Changes" let me know. :)

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own, nor will I ever own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, cartoons, video games, action figures, movies, or anything else that has to do with TMNT. Those rights dutifully belong to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. However, the rights to Samantha Jones and any other character in this story _not _associated with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, cartoons, video games, action figures, movies, etc. belong to moi. :)

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Prologue**

* * *

New York City. The Big Apple. The Capital of the World. Gotham. No matter what anyone called it, the names given to describe the big, bad outskirts of New York never seemed to capture the essence of the city itself as a whole. The sporadic, flashing lights that smoldered the stars in the night sky, the soaring skyscrapers that seemed so tall they could cut through the clouds that lingered above, or the hustle and bustle of New Yorkers shouting, laughing, pushing, and cursing as they tread the busy streets that pave the city; they were all unique attributes that made New York City what it was: a city of activity, a city of commotion…

…and unfortunately, a city of crime.

However, unbeknownst to the people of New York, the police weren't the only ones that kept all the muggers, gangbangers, creeps, and just plain out psychos in check. Unbeknownst to them, there were others who lurked in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye on the nightlife like guardians of the dark and protectors of the weak.

"For the love of all that is holy, are we _there yet_?"

A chorus of frustrated groans answered that question, making Michelangelo wince apologetically. He knew this was the, what, _seventh_ time he asked that same question. But holy hell, it felt like they had been walking for hours!

"Mikey, I swear to God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary and whoever the hell else is up there, if ya open yer mouth one more goddamn time, I'm gonna throw yer crippled ass off this roof." Raphael spat, looking his younger brother dead in the eyes with his hands balled into tight fists.

Leonardo peered over his shoulder and shot his hotheaded brother a warning glare. "Calm down, Raphael. We're almost at Casey and April's apartment. Besides, if you throw Mikey off the roof then he definitely won't stop whining."

"Hey! Its bad enough I have to hobble old man style all the way to Casey and April's apartment. The least you guys could do show a _little_ sympathy." Mikey glared.

"We are showing sympathy—" Donatello pointed out once they finally reached the fire escape. "—Sympathy for each other after having to listen to you whine and complain all the way over here."

Leo chuckled at his brother's comeback, climbing the last step before he reached the window that lead to Casey and April's living room. He glanced inside to make sure at least one of them was home and lightly tapped on the glass once he saw April coming out of the hallway carrying an open cardboard box. She immediately smiled at the sight of the four brothers and set the box down before rushing over to let them in.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Hey, April," Leo greeted, waiting until she motioned for them to come inside before he stepped over the windowsill, Raphael following closely behind. "Sorry to drop in unexpectedly at such a late hour."

"Don't even sweat it. You guys know you're always welcome here anytime." She smiled warmly before glancing over her shoulder towards the hallway. "Casey! Come to the living room! The guys are here!"

Raph moved out of the way for Donnie to come in next before he helped Mikey crawl through the window. "Mike here kinda got his shell handed to him by a coupla Purple Dragons while we were out on patrol."

"Oh no. Is he hurt badly?" April asked, rushing over to the window to help Don assist their younger brother.

The purple-banded turtle rolled his eyes. "Hardly. No fractures, no broken bones, just some mild bruising and a sprained ankle that he _swears_ feels like it's broken."

"Let's see how you feel after someone bashes your ankle with a metal bat. Ouch!" Mikey hissed before finally making it through the window and into the apartment.

"I'll go get him some ice," April reported, making sure the orange-banded turtle was steady on his feet before she made her way to the kitchen.

Leo glanced around the living room while Mikey hobbled his way to the nearest chair, the sound of the faucet echoing from the kitchen. It had been a while since him and his brothers had visited Casey and April at their apartment and not much had changed, from what Leo could remember, aside from the floor being littered with opened up boxes labeled **JUNK **and **STORAGE**.

The blue-banded turtle's beak cringed slightly at the pungent smell of cleaning products that wafted through the air. If he had to take a guess, Casey and April were probably getting a head start on their spring-cleaning. A _big _head start, seeing as it was the middle of August.

"You kids having a little shindig or somethin'?" Raphael asked, nodding towards a half-put-up banner that spelled out **HAPPY BIRTHDAY**. Leo's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't even noticed that banner hanging precariously from the ceiling.

April came back into the living room and handed Mikey some ice wrapped in a dishtowel and a glass of water, which he happily accepted before leaning back against the only armchair that decorated the living room. She looked up at the banner and smiled. "It's for Casey's cousin, Samantha. She's going to be turning sixteen tomorrow and we're having a birthday party for her here."

"Birthday party?!" Mikey cringed, almost spilling his glass onto the floor.

Donatello rolled his eyes and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Just sip your drink and find your happy place, Mikey."

"Hold up, Casey's got a cousin?" Raph asked, raising an eye ridge curiously.

"Why do ya sound so surprised?" Casey laughed, entering the living room with another cardboard box labeled **STORAGE** before he set it next to the couch.

Raphael grinned. "Never really figured there were more of you boneheads out there, Caseman."

Casey rolled his eyes and took a seat on the longer couch, looking Donnie's way when the brainiac raised his hand as if he were in class. "Uhm, just out of curiosity, why are you having the party here? Aren't most of your relatives in Massachusetts?"

Casey glanced over at April, who in return gave Casey a similar look of slight apprehension. Leonardo inquiringly raised an eye ridge before Casey wet his lips and spoke. "Actually, I'm glad you brought that up, Don. As you guys couldn't already tell by all the boxes we got lying around, we're clearing up a few things to make room for Sam."

Raph spoke slowly, as if the gears in his head weren't turning quite yet. "Ya mean…"

April nodded. "Sam is going to be living with Casey and I while she finishes high school up here, so she can familiarize herself with the city before she transfers to college."

"Awesome! When do we get to meet her?" Mikey asked, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

Casey chuckled softly, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Sorry buddy, but it's probably gonna be a while before we introduce you guys to my cousin. I don't know how she's gonna react to four giant mutant turtles with ninja weapons and masks." He grinned, looking up at the four brothers. "Don't wanna scare the poor girl before she even gets herself settled."

"You and April turned out fine." Raph grinned, making his way to the kitchen. "Besides, I think we're pretty tame compared to some of the freaks ya see out in the city."

Leonardo crossed his arms over his plastron and made eye contact with all of his brothers. He already knew where Casey and April were going with this conversation and figured if he didn't set any guidelines, his brothers were going to find themselves overstepping their boundaries. "Regardless of whether her reaction is good or bad, we have to respect Casey's decision and wait until he feels Sam is ready to meet us. This means we can't just drop in unannounced anymore like tonight."

"Soooo I take it that whole us being always welcome here anytime statement just flew out the window?" Mikey asked, looking directly at April before receiving a smack upside the head from Raphael once he retired from the kitchen to the living room, beer bottle in hand.

"That ain't the only thing that's gonna be flying out the window," he growled, taking a quick swig of his beer.

Casey smiled at the turtles. "C'mon, fellas. We'll still be able to go out on patrol and stuff, so it's not like we won't be able to see each other. And eventually you'll be able to meet Sam, just after she's gotten herself situated."

"So what college is she planning on going to up here after she's finished high school?" Donnie asked, seating himself on the arm of the chair Mikey was currently lounging on.

"The John Jay College of Criminal Justice." Casey grinned. He shook his head slowly, his shoulders bouncing a little as he chuckled, as if remembering a funny joke. "Girl's got spunk wanting to work for the NYPD. Especially with a city that has more criminals roaming around than a penitentiary."

"A cop, huh?" Raph smirked. "How does that make you feel, Mr. Vigilante Man?"

Casey casually shrugged away the hotheaded turtle's question and reached over to grab a box in front of him labeled **CLOSET**. He dug through it before pulling out a leather-bound photo album labeled 'Memories' and waved it in front of the turtles. "You guys wanna see some pictures of me and Sam?"

"You know it!" Mikey exclaimed as he sprung up from the chair, forgetting about the towel of ice that was resting on his ankle as it fell to the floor. Donnie rolled his eyes and picked up the towel while April giggled and shook her head.

_Good thing I tied it_, she thought, turning back towards the kitchen before glancing over her shoulder. "I'm going to go make some hot chocolate if anyone wants some."

"I'm pretty set," said Raphael, waving his beer bottle for April to see while him and his brothers all huddled around Casey and his book of memories. The vigilante waited until everyone was comfortable and opened it up to the first page, where a picture of him as a teenager and a petite grade school girl greeted them with bright, warm smiles.

"Is that her?" Mikey asked, pointing at the girl standing next to Casey in the photo. She was downright short and looked no older than six-years-old. Compared to Casey, she only reached up to his hip.

Casey nodded and smiled sincerely at the photo. "That was when Sam was in the first grade and I was in high school. I went to school up here in New York though. Before Sam was even born, her parents moved back to Northampton, so I never really got to see her growing up."

"So Sam and her parents used to live here in New York as well?" Donnie asked.

Casey nodded, his face taking on a solemn appearance. "I was ten when I heard they were moving back. My ma said it was because they were having trouble keeping up with their house payments, but I knew the real reason. A month and a half before my aunt and uncle decided on moving, my dad was killed by those Purple Dipshits. After that, they were concerned about their unborn daughter's safety, so they packed their things and hightailed it outta here. If they woulda only stayed three more weeks, I would've been there the day Sam was born…."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Casey." Leo offered a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. He glanced back down at the album, noticing how big both Casey and Sam's smiles were as they stood glued at each other's hips. "From the looks of it, you two appeared to be really close, despite living in separate states."

Mikey smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, so it's not like the move did any damage. You still saw her from time to time. And I'm sure the moments she got to see her favorite cousin were the best moments of her childhood."

Casey's lips tugged gently into a genuine smile before he whispered his thanks to the turtles. He turned the page, showing them more pictures of him and Sam together. One picture that stood out, however, was one of Sam donning a baby blue mini dress with white stockings and a pair of pearl white ice skates. Her dark, midnight brown hair was put up into two adorable little pigtails as she smiled at the camera, a big gap in her mouth where her two front teeth were supposed to be.

"Aww," Mikey gushed.

"So she's a figure skater?" Raph asked, hovering over Casey's shoulder.

Casey nodded, turning the page to show more pictures of Sam in various figure skating outfits, holding up a decorative display of medals and even a few trophies. Leo's eyes widened slightly, blown away by all the medals and trophies Sam had achieved at such a young age, making the blue-banded turtle to believe she held an incredible amount of skill. However, the next picture seemed to make his eyes widen for a completely different reason.

"This was from our last family reunion at the park in Northampton two years ago, about a month or so after Sam turned thirteen," Casey pointed out, showing the guys a picture of just the upper part of him and Sam. The two were pressed together, cheek to cheek, with Casey's arm wrapped around Sam's shoulders and Sam holding the camera up at a typical Facebook angle. The blue-banded turtle felt like someone had just punched him in the plastron, knocking the wind out of him for a moment as he gazed down at the photo.

That's_ Casey's cousin…?_

"Heh, now we know why you lucked out in the looks department, huh, Case?" Raph grinned, playfully nudging Casey in the back.

"She's cute," Donnie and Mikey both said in unison.

"She's … beautiful…." Leo spoke softly, his dark brown eyes transfixed on the photograph. While no longer the small young child with the short hair and toothless smile in the previous photos Casey had shown them, Sam had evolved over the years from a cute little girl into a blinding beautiful teenager.

Leo looked at the photo as if he were eyeing a magnificent painting, his eyes trailing from Sam's dark, chocolate tresses that seemed to carry off a slight twinge of red in the sunlight, flowing elegantly in perfect layers past her shoulders, to her smooth, creamy colored skin, to her hypnotizing eyes of evergreen, making them almost look gray in the luminescent sunlight. He had also noticed that Sam had gone through a little growth spurt through the years, now at level with Casey's chin in the photograph.

The blue-banded turtle literally felt as if her beauty had taken his breath away.

"Where was this picture taken?" Don had asked, snapping Leo out of his trance and pointing at a photograph of Sam sitting outside what looked like an old coffee shop. She was seated at an umbrella table, iced coffee set next to her, and dressed in an elegant, snowy white sundress with a cut off jean jacket worn over it and muddy brown cowboy boots. In her hands was a book, but while Sam's head was facing down, her gorgeous evergreen eyes stared up at the camera, flashing a soft, friendly smile. Leo's heart thumped hard in his chest.

"That was at the local bookstore and coffee shop on the boulevard in Northampton," Casey stated, chuckling softly as he looked down at the photo. "If that girl wasn't figure skating, she had her nose buried in some book."

"Sounds like someone we know." Raph nudged Leo in the plastron, giving his brother a playful wink.

Leo shot his brother a lazy glare. While Don was in fact the smarter turtle out of the four of them, his specialties strictly lied on technology and machines. If Donnie was caught reading something, it was usually always on a computer screen and was either a list of hard-hitting facts or just a streamline of information. Nothing with a compelling storyline or captivating characters, just manuals on how certain things worked or news stories.

Leo, on the other hand, held a passion for literature. Whether it was writings from Shakespeare, Ray Bradbury, or even Haruki Murakami, no matter the genre, if it was a work of fiction and painted a vivid picture in his head, Leo read it. Cover to cover.

"Woah! She's a skater chick too?" Mikey exclaimed, pointing at a picture on the next page. This photograph showed Sam standing in front of a rather large off ramp in what was obviously a skate park, one hand on her hip and the other flashing the peace sign as she winked at the camera. She was dressed in nothing but a black tank top and cutoff black workout shorts, all decked out in protective gear and worn out electric blue roller blades.

Leo stood, flabbergasted. She even looked beautiful in nitty-gritty sportswear, transforming her from an elegant-looking girly-girl to a badass tomboy. It was almost as if Casey were showing them photos of two different girls; twins with two separate interests, only wrapped into one amazingly breathtaking young woman. The blue-banded turtle felt his heart thump viciously against his plastron, causing him to shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. What the shell was wrong with him?

At that moment, April had finally emerged from the kitchen with a tray of mugs and chuckled with amusement as she handed everyone their hot chocolate. "Sounds like your cousin has herself an admirer, huh, Casey?"

Leo winced at April's words, his cheeks darkening almost ashamedly as he forced himself to tear his eyes away from the photo album. While it was obvious April was clearly talking about Mikey's excited outburst, he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt in the lower pit of his stomach for eyeing Casey's cousin – Casey's _younger _cousin – in such a … licentious manner.

The blue-banded turtle placed a comforting hand on his abdomen, taking in a steady breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach. Was he feeling okay? Surely he'd never eyed young women like this before when he came across them during patrol or when he was watching something on TV that showed rather beautiful women. Why all of a sudden was he feeling both light-headed and like he had just rode that crazy rollercoaster at Coney Island Mikey was always raving about whenever they showed the commercials for it? Maybe he was coming down with something….

Casey glanced over at Mikey and smiled. "Do I gotta keep my eye on you in case you start hitting on my little cousin?" He laughed.

Mikey grinned and stood up from the couch. "You know what they say, dude, once you go green, no other color reigns supreme!" He laughed, shooting everyone a wink and two finger guns as his grin got wider.

The orange-banded turtle received nothing but blank stares and awkward silence until Donnie emitted a face palm with a discomfited shake of his head. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one who's ever said that, Mikey."

"It's called trade marking, dude. Duh." Mikey grinned, sitting himself back on the couch next to Casey.

April smiled with amusement and took a sip of her hot chocolate, her eyes scanning the living room as she did so. She sighed and placed a hand on Casey's shoulder, giving him a disappointed frown. "I hate to cut the fond memories short, Case, but we really have to finish cleaning up here if we want Sam's room to be ready by tomorrow morning."

"Would you like us to help?" Leo offered, trying to sound as normal as possible as the unsettling twist in his stomach finally began to subside.

Casey grinned. "Is it gonna cost us?"

"Welllllllll…" Raphael started, flashing his brothers a grin.

April giggled, reading the brothers' minds as she made her way towards the kitchen. "I'll go heat up some pizzas."

* * *

Uggh! I'm so mad! I had this awesome text icon of a shell that I was going to use as brackets for this story, but when I upload on this site, it looks all weird and nothing like a turtle shell. D: Oh well. :(

Anywho! I hope y'all enjoyed the prologue! :D Now that spring semester is coming to a close, I'm going to try to update to this story quickly. I've already got Chapter 1 almost finished and I'll have about two weeks of free time (well, not counting work :P) to add on to this story before I start summer semester on June 10th. Don't forget to leave reviews! Reviews buy the turtles more pizza to nom on! :D

Catch you guys later!


	2. Bachelor's for Life

**Author's Note: **Greetings, fellow readers. :D Oh man, it's been a hectic week and a half. Work has been killer, what with it being the first week of the month and all. :P Second, I found this chapter for some reason to be a real pain in the ass to write. Then again, this is my first attempt at writing a TMNT story, so I figured the later chapters will flow better as I get more practice. :)

Now, before I continue on with the story, there are a couple of people I'd like to thank for helping me complete this chapter. First off, I'd like to send a big thanks to AlexHamato, who skimmed through this chapter and pointed out a few details. She also helped me tremedously with dialogue between Leo and Raph, who, although they're my two favorite turtles, the scene you're about to read about them was a real pain in the ass to write. :/ But, thanks to AlexHamato, she introduced me to a fun little exercise to help get a feel for the characters and I just so happened to love it so much, that I put it in my story. XD So, some of the dialogue between Leo and Raph (mostly Leo) is all thanks to AlexHamato. :) Thank you so very much!

Second, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed for my story so far and will give them all a shout out! So, **adventuresstime**, **Laurenadel story's**, **BubblyShell22**, and **SleepingSeeker**, thank you so much for the fabulous reviews and keep 'em coming! You guys rock! ;D

Alright, now let's get on with the story. :)

**Disclaimer: **As stated before, I do not own nor will I ever own the rights to TMNT. However, characters that you will find in this chapter such as Sam, Christopher Jones, Kara, Megan, Taylor, and anyone else you've never seen or heard of in the comics, cartoons, TV shows, etc., belong solely to me. :)

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 1**

**"Bachelors for Life"**

* * *

**Friday**  


It had been years since she last saw the city in all its magnificent glory. Her home city – or what _could've_ been her home city. A city where she could've grown up, gone to school, make friends – not that she didn't love the close friends she had made in Massachusetts, or that she was implying that Northampton was a horrible town to begin with. How could she hate it? It was her hometown; where she grew up.

Besides, when it all came down to it, she knew moving away from New York was something her parents only did to protect her; to make sure she didn't grow up in a city where even going out to get the mail held a great risk of not coming back home alive. If she had kids of her own – which was still a _long _ways away – she probably would've done the same thing and moved to a more secure little town rather than raise them somewhere dangerous. Somewhere they could possibly get badly injured. Or even killed….

But, in a frightening sort of way, that's what Samantha Jones loved most about New York City: the danger it held, the excitement at every corner, the fact that just stepping outside was a risk all on its own. It thrilled her. Elated her. Maybe that's why she always wanted to become a cop. The risks. The perils. The fact that she'd be putting her life on the line to help those who needed her; who were counting on her.

It gave her shivers just thinking about it….

"So when you become a cop and start working for the NYPD, you _better_ hook me up with one of your cute partners." Kara giggled, her carrot top curls bouncing along with her shoulders.

Megan shoved Kara playfully and looked at Sam, her baby blue eyes sparkling. "Forget her! _I'm_ the one who just ended a sorry relationship with some loser. Hook me up, Sammie!"

Sam rolled her eyes and laughed at her friends, listening to them humorously bicker with each other while she took a rather large bite of her second slice of pepperoni and olive pizza. The electric wails of another hardcore Halestorm song blared through her cousin's living room as people conversed with one another and shoved their faces with the vast quantities of food provided to them.

Sam's other friend, Taylor, nudged her arm, doing her best to speak over the music. "So how do you think this whole living with your cousin and his girlfriend thing is going to turn out?"

Sam set her half-eaten pizza slice back on her plate and scanned the living room, watching her cousin, Casey, laugh and make small talk with her dad near the kitchen. She turned her attention back to Taylor and winced slightly as she shrugged her shoulders. "To be honest, I really don't know. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Casey to death and his girlfriend seems really nice, but I can't help but feel like I'm kind of intruding on the committed relationship they've built together, you know? I mean, they've got a killer apartment, jobs, a _life_ and here I come strolling along, taking up their spare bedroom and kinda throwing a monkey wrench into the routine they've got set up."

Taylor raised a quizzical eyebrow at Sam, her dark brown eyes flashing a flicker of uncertainty. Sam scrunched back in her chair a little bit, her face awash with painful indignity. "You don't think I'm intruding, do you?"

Taylor couldn't help but laugh as she placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder. "Of course not, Sammie. Obviously if they didn't want you intruding on their lives, they wouldn't have agreed to let you live here."

"I know, I know." Sam sunk in her chair. "It's just, this is all so new. New home, new school, new city. Not to mention Casey's my all time favorite cousin, not that all the others are gems to begin with. I just don't wanna feel like a burden or overstep any boundaries."

Sam's evergreen eyes suddenly widened as she shot up from her chair. "Oh my God! What if I accidentally walk in on him and April having sex?"

Taylor felt like she had just busted a gut, her face scrunched up in half amusement and half-blatant confusion. "Okay, you need to stop over thinking this whole thing, girl. Like I said, I'm pretty sure if Casey and his girlfriend were _that_ against you staying with them, he wouldn't have volunteered to have you stay at their apartment while you finished school up here in the first place."

Sam sighed as she sat back down in her seat. "I know. I'm still blown away that he offered to take me in and everything after I mentioned about wanting to attend John Jay."

Taylor smiled. "You see, you just proved my point. He _wants _you here, Sam. So stop worrying and enjoy your party."

Sam's lips tugged into a genuine smile as she looked back across the living room. Casey took another swig of his beer and looked up, noticing Sam flashing him a smile. He returned the favor and even gave her a small wave before going back to conversing with his uncle.

"It never ceases to amaze me," Christopher Jones chuckled, the age lines in his forehead crinkling before he downed the last bit of his beer. "Seems like only yesterday, my baby girl needed me to hold her hand to keep her from falling flat on the ice rink. Now she's turning sixteen. Damn how time flies."

Casey laughed softly. "Before you know it, you'll be snapping photos of her as she walks down that stage and accepts her diploma."

Mr. Jones smirked, glancing almost solemnly down at his empty beer can with tired eyes. "Your aunt and I tried our best to keep Sam away from this city. But for some reason, she's drawn to it like a moth to a flame. You'd think all the terrible news reports on TV would convince her this ain't such a safe place to live."

"Maybe she's drawn to the danger. Maybe that's why she wants to be a cop."

Mr. Jones hummed quietly, giving his now empty beer can a shake before glancing behind him inside the kitchen. "Where do you keep the rest of these?" He asked, not even waiting for an answer from his nephew before he walked over to the refrigerator.

Casey followed close behind. "It's not a bad thing, you know. If Sam wants to become a cop, then she should—"

"—I never said I disapprove of what she's doing, Casey." Mr. Jones snapped, the glow from the fridge lamp illuminating the fine lines on his stern face. "I'm _happy_ for Sam, yes, but at the same time, I just—I, dammit, why the hell did she have to pick _this _city?"

The pounding beat of the music filling the living room made it difficult to hear the violent slamming of the refrigerator door, but Casey could only imagine how loud it would've been judging by how roughly his uncle had forced it shut. He looked up at his uncle with fretful eyes, noticing how transfixed he was with the kitchen floor.

With an exasperated sigh, Mr. Jones ran his fingers through his shaggy, salt and pepper hair, still not daring to look his nephew in the eye after his mini outburst. "Sorry." He grunted before cracking open his now third beer, shoving his free, calloused hand inside his pocket.

Casey stood wordlessly, opening his mouth and then immediately shutting it. After doing this enough times to look like a fish out of water, he finally gave up and resulted to staring at the floor as well, avoiding eye contact with his uncle.

"Do you remember the day I told your mom your aunt Maddie was pregnant?"

Casey looked up at his uncle, almost taken aback by the random question before the fond memory finally started to play in his head and he smiled. "How could I forget? You drank that entire bottle of Pepto-Bismol we had in the bathroom and my mom had to force you to call in sick at work 'cuz you were a jittery mess."

Mr. Jones laughed, his midnight brown eyes now focused on his beer. "I guess saying I was scared shitless would be an understatement, huh?"

Casey shrugged. "Well, this was your first kid."

"My _only _kid to top it off." Mr. Jones smirked, finally building up the courage to look up at his nephew before turning his attention to the living and locking his gaze on his birthday girl. He shook his head and chuckled. "You don't know how badly I was hoping for a son, Case. I figured raising a boy would've been a walk in the park. But when the doctor showed us on the ultrasound screen that we were having a girl … well, let's just say I could've downed _five _Pepto-Bismol's and it still wouldn't have done my stomach any justice. I'm not saying I don't love my baby girl to death, but—" he looked up at Casey and gave him a sly wink before taking a sip of his beer. "—just don't have girls, okay?"

Casey couldn't help but laugh. "And why is that?"

Mr. Jones looked back over at his daughter, watching her have a rather animated conversation with her friends before they all burst into laughter. "No one ever tells you about how attached you get. I mean, don't get me wrong, if I would've had a son, of course I would've loved him as equally as I love Sam. But, it's just—" He held open his palms while still managing to hold his beer, looking down at his rough hands with a slight twinkle in his eye. "I remember holding her, Casey. I remember holding this delicate little baby girl with her mother's eyes and my hair and I remember thinking to myself how—how _fragile_ she was. And then you start to think about how beautiful she's going to be as she grows older and how many boys she's going to attract down the road and how not all of those boys are going to be nice to your beautiful baby girl."

Casey nodded, realizing the beer must be taking effect seeing as his uncle was now rambling. However, he listened to his words intently, not even thinking about interrupting his uncle as he continued talking.

Mr. Jones sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly as he gazed down at his beer. "I guess when it comes down to it, I'm just a big ol' softy."

Casey laughed, his shoulders shaking slightly as he gave his beer a little shake to see how much he had left before he had to grab another can. Unfortunately, this was only his first beer, so he wasn't feeling the aftereffects of the alcohol quite yet. But that familiar warmth that enveloped his body, wrapping around him like a security blanket was starting to take effect and the vigilante couldn't help but smile a small, tipsy smile.

The smile, however, wasn't enduring as Casey looked back down at the kitchen floor. "I still wish you guys woulda stayed here instead of moving back home."

Mr. Jones let out a tired sigh, his throat carrying off almost a gravely melody from years of smoking. "Casey…. You know I mourn your father's death every day since he was taken from us, right?" Again, he didn't give Casey time to answer, not that he had an answer in mind to begin with. "I knew from the beginning that this city wasn't safe. You hear on the news every day how people are shot or killed or kidnapped or raped, but you never think anything of it. Sure, you feel sorry for their families and loved ones, but you never stop to think that that could be your loved one someday."

Casey felt his hand clench his almost empty beer can, his teeth gritted in a hard sneer.

Mr. Jones shook his can slightly, not even fazed that he was already three-quarters of the way finished. "You know your aunt and I never intended to keep you two separated."

"I just wish I could've been there to see her grow up, Uncle Chris," said Casey, his voice sounding both meek and, something else his uncle couldn't quite pinpoint. Discontent? Resentment?

Mr. Jones reached out a rough hand toward his nephew and clamped it down on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Whoever said she was done growing?"

Casey was silent for a moment before he glanced up at his uncle, his words slowly processing through his head. He then glanced across the living room, watching Sam giggle and head bang with her friends to the rapid-fire rock song that was blasting through the speakers, watching them push and shove each other in an innocent little mosh pit. He felt himself clench his beer can as his stomach churned and his memory instantly flashed to random moments he shared with that frail little six-year-old girl that barely reached his hips when he was in high school. That same little girl whom he silently promised he would protect and look out for if the day ever came when his aunt and uncle decided to move back to New York and let Sam go to school here so he could walk her home and play games with her and watch her grow before his eyes every day until she blossomed into a beautiful young woman. He never wanted any harm to come to that little girl … and he wasn't about to let that happen in the near future.

(-)

"Cowabunga, Dragon freaks!" Michelangelo shouted, the weight of gravity pulling him down as he leapt from the fire escape.

The two unlucky Purple Dragons underneath both looked up, catching a quick flash of green before a tremendous amount of weight hit their backs, sending them both straight to the ground in an instant. The orange-banded turtle smirked, twirling his nunchaku while the two thugs groaned miserably at his feet. "Lights out, dudes."

Raphael let out an exasperated sigh, spinning his sais before hooking them back through his belt. "Really? We've been patrollin' for almost two hours and so far all we've seen tonight are some Purple Boneheads who barely put up a fight?"

"Pretty slow for a Friday night, don't you think?" Donnie asked, leaning casually against his bo-staff. "Should we call it a night and just head home?"

"Dudes!" Mikey exclaimed, jumping in front of his brothers and shooting his arms in the air animatedly. "If we leave now, we can totally catch the rest of that 'Zombie Vampires from Space' movie on Chiller!"

Leo sheathed his katanas, raising an eye ridge as if Mikey had just grown another head. "'Zombie Vampires from Space'?"

"As dumb as that movie sounds, the special effects and make-up they show in the commercials look pretty tight-knit for a B movie. I actually want to check it out myself." Donnie smiled, receiving a rewarding slap on the shell from his younger brother.

"That's two votes for zombie vamps. Thank you, Donatello." Mikey winked, looking up at his two older brothers with a smile. "What about you guys? C'mon, alien vampires who'll suck out your blood and devour your brains." He sang, waving his fingers in a melodic dance that matched the tone of his voice.

Leonardo sighed quietly to himself before he looked out into the streets, the slight breeze of the cool night air making the tails of his mask dance with the wind. The moon shone brightly above the blackened sky and the echoing sound of commotion New York usually carried out on the weekends was silenced by the hushed roar of the wind, causing Leo to shiver uncomfortably. Donnie was right. This was definitely unusual behavior for a Friday night and Leo couldn't help but feel he should do one more round across the city before he was satisfied of turning in.

"You guys can go on ahead without me. I think I'm going to make another round before I call it a night." Leo smiled apologetically.

The three brothers were silent at their leader's words, all of them exchanging glances with each other as if having a telepathic conversation that Leo wasn't a part of. They knew their leader had been acting strange all night and although passing up the opportunity to head home early wasn't unusual for Splinter Jr., it still concerned the turtles on a high level.

Donnie was the first to speak. "Are you sure, Leo?"

Leo nodded before pulling himself up the fire escape. "I won't be long, I promise. Save some popcorn for me when I get back, okay, Mikey?"

"Uhm, okay, dude," Mikey spoke slowly, looking at Leo, then Donnie, and then finally at Raph. "What about you, Raph? You comin'?"

Raphael looked at both of his younger brothers before tilting his head to watch Leo continue to climb up the fire escape, already halfway towards the top of the building. "Nah, I think I'm gonna follow ol' Fearless Leader and keep him company."

Donatello nodded and sighed as he felt a little pang of relief.

_Good_, he thought. So he wasn't the only one who realized Leo wasn't quite all here with them tonight. It was odd, ever since they had left Casey and April's apartment last night it was like someone had flicked a switch, making Leo seem almost distant – unfocused. If Raph hadn't chosen to follow him on his patrol, Donnie would've dropped the idea of going home completely and volunteered to join Leo himself. He just hoped his hotheaded brother could maybe figure out what it was exactly that was bothering their leader, or maybe even get him to confess his troubles, even though that theory had minimal odds of becoming reality. Nonetheless, Donnie was still worried and hoped Leo would come back home feeling like his old self again.

_Hopefully…._

As Raphael made his way towards the fire escape, Don whispered for his brothers to be safe before him and Mikey dispersed into the shadows and headed back to their lair. It didn't take long for Raph to make it to the top of the building as he scaled up the fire escape with ease. However, he wasn't expecting Leo to be standing their waiting for him with his arms crossed over his plastron, looking rather annoyed that one of his brothers actually decided to join him.

"So you're the one who drew the short straw and was forced to come babysit me, huh?" Leo asked, tapping his foot in annoyance.

Raph shot his brother a fake look of confusion as he hoisted himself onto the roof. "What're ya talkin' 'bout? I haven't gotten a chance to bust a single head all night. Ya think I'm gonna blow that off just to go watch some cheesy horror flick that'll make Mike wet his shell?"

Leonardo rolled his eyes, sighing rather loudly, which made Raph glare at him, irritated. "Hey, if yer gonna bitch about me followin' ya then I'll just patrol the city on my own."

"Raph," Leo called out, making his brother stop in his tracks. He straightened himself up a bit, his lips pressed together in a firm line as his brain racked for the right words. Eventually, he gave up and settled on, "You know Master Splinter doesn't approve of us going off on our own."

"Then what the hell were you plannin' on doing, huh?" Raph barked, his voice rising in volume. "You told us to head back home while ya made a second round through the city all on yer own. Ain't _that_ considered disobeyin' Master Splinter's orders?" He paused. "Oh, wait, I forgot. Yer 'better than us' so of course Mr. High and Mighty can handle patrollin' the big bad city all on his own. Forgive me for doubtin' yer abilities, Yer Majesty."

Leo glared down at his brother, feeling the vein on the side of his forehead throb with every word Raphael spoke and every second that ticked by, wasted on this petty argument that wouldn't be happening if his brothers had just let him patrol on his own and clear his head in the process. Ever since last night, he'd been feeling a little mislaid lately and he figured if he stayed out to get some fresh air, he'd feel better. However, Raph was only making Leo feel ten times worse and the blue-banded turtle knew the only way it was going to end was if he stepped down and fed his brother's little ego.

Leonardo smirked wickedly.

"I never said I was better than you guys … just better than you."

Raphael swore he could hear the sound of a record scratching in the back of his mind as he stared, dumbfounded at his older brother, his jaw feeling like it could reach the floor. Leo had to internally bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

The red-banded turtle clenched his hands into tight fists, his eyes narrowed into a stern glare as he ground his teeth viciously. However, before he was able to shoot Leo with a comeback, his hands quickly loosened and the tension in his shoulders began to subside as he gave his brother an amused chuckle, his shoulders shaking as he laughed. "Oh man, Leo. Ya got a lotta guts sayin' somethin' like that to the guy who kicked yer ass so hard ya could've built a pool in the footprint."

"How do you know I wasn't going easy on you?" Leo raised a curious eye ridge. Raphael nearly doubled over.

"Ohoho, so that's yer excuse? You _let _me win? Hah! How cute. So what, yer sayin' you _let _me snap yer special little katanas like toothpicks while I pinned yer ass to the ground and nearly stabbed yer goddamn eyes out because ya figured you'd gimme a little pity win?"

"Even your ego deserves a little rest from time to time, Raph." Leo grinned. "How long have we been training under Master Splinter's teachings? About fifteen years, give or take. And _how_ many times have you actually won in a fight against me? Shall we compare stats?"

"Alright ya cocky bastard, if that's how ya wanna play it."

Raphael let his sentence hang in the air as he looked over his surroundings, making Leo raise a quizzical eye ridge. But before the leader could open his mouth to ask what his brother was looking for, Raph's lips curved into an excited grin as he walked across the rooftop and pointed at a taller building sporting flashing, neon lights. "I'll bet ya an entire month of braggin' rights that I can make it to the top of that buildin' before you can. Loser can't make any comebacks whatsoever until the month is over."

"An entire month without having to listen to you argue with me? Count me in!" Leo smiled, letting his arms fall to his sides as he walked towards his brother, who was already leaning forward into a runner's stance. The blue-banded turtle hummed contently. "I can already imagine how quiet the sewers will be without you opening your big mouth. Honestly, I could care less about the bragging rights. Just utter silence for an entire month is a fabulous prize all on its own."

"Don't buy the condoms before the girl even spreads her legs, Leo." Raph retorted.

"_What_?"

The red-banded turtle rolled his eyes and kept his focus on the target building. "Just hurry up and yell ready, set, go."

"Alright, alright," Leo grumbled, focusing on the luminescent lights decorating the building that couldn't be any farther than half a mile from where he and Raph stood. He glanced over at his brother, who in returned flashed him a cocky grin as his legs began to jitter slightly with anticipation. It was then at that very moment that Leonardo felt that familiar feeling of adrenaline rushing through his veins, his heart pounding eagerly against his plastron as his feet began to beg for him to yell out the magic words before they could kick start his body into motion.

He wet his lips nervously and readied his stance. "Ready."

Raphael felt his fingers curl into tight fists, the muscles in his arm flexing as he forced himself to stay rooted to the ground until Leo gave the final signal.

"Set."

The gentleness of the wind grazed against the turtle's faces, kissing their chicks as if wishing them both good luck on their race as the brothers gave each other one final stare down, locking their eyes on the finish line; already picturing the oh-so satisfying look of defeat on the other's face.

….

"Go!"

The blast of smoke was unanticipated and blurred Leo's vision as it filled his lungs and scratched his throat, making him stop dead in his tracks before he was even able to take four steps forward. He coughed violently, his body trying desperately to get rid of the horrible, unwanted substance that was making him suffocate. As the smoke began to clear, he looked up with tears distorting his vision, catching a blob of green which he knew was Raphael as he jumped to the next building over.

The sound of taunting laughter echoed in Leo's eardrums.

"Consider that the appetizer before I make ya eat my dust, Leo!" Raph shouted, now running backwards to make sure his brother was looking right at him as he leapt from the rooftop railing and back flipped onto the next rooftop, his legs kicking into high gear.

Leo balled his hands into fists as his vision finally became clearer and the smoke was now exiting his lungs, allowing him to breathe normally once again. As he watched his younger brother move closer and closer towards the target, Leo realized how far behind he was and quickly dashed forward, making his way towards the second building.

"Dammit, Raph," he growled, slamming his hands on top of the rooftop railing before tucking his body in and pushing off with his arms in a front flip. He landed gracefully atop the third building and although Raph was still ahead of him, Leo was catching up rather quickly, which made the hotheaded turtle growl in frustration.

"What the hell was that, Raphael?" Leo snarled before his brother leapt from the roof and landed on a street lamp, making sure his presence wasn't known to any passing bystanders below them. It was perfect timing that a moving truck was coming their way and both Leo and Raph waited patiently before they landed on top of the truck, letting it chauffer them for a while before they noticed low street cables hanging above them.

Both brothers grabbed on to separate cables, hoisting themselves up and pushing off, grabbing on to cable after cable before swinging up a brightly lit sign connected to another building.

Raphael was still in the lead as he looked over his shoulder and flashed Leo a grin. "I never said anythin' about playin' fair, did I?"

Leonardo glared daggers at his brother as they dashed from building to building, his teeth gnashing together in a hard sneer. However, his features quickly softened and twisted into a devilish smirk as he slipped his fingers inside one on his wristbands.

"No, you didn't."

Gravity was a cold-hearted bitch sometimes to those who ran as fast as their legs would allow them and, unfortunately, Raphael was the victim to this fact as he felt his legs immediately lock together, stopping him dead in his tracks before his face connected with cold, hard concrete. The red-banded turtle groaned, feeling a searing pain spread across his face as he pushed himself up, watching Leo turn around and wave innocently at him before he jumped off the roof, disappearing onto lower ground.

Raphael shook his head, trying to regain his composure before looking down at what was trapping his legs.

_Bolas? That sneaky son of a bitch._

With an aggravated grunt, the hothead reached for one of his sais and cut through the bolas that bound his ankles, freeing his legs and allowing him to pick himself up. When he was finally back on his feet, he looked up and could already see that Leo was just a mere feet away from the shop that displayed the neon lights, making his eyes widen in panic. Raph immediately kicked his speed into high gear, practically throwing himself off the roof and landing sloppily, but effectively, atop the last apartment complex, the pads of his feet screaming.

Leonardo was already scaling the metal ladder that connected to the structure, but when he looked down, he noticed that Raphael was hot on his tail. The blue-banded turtle nearly lost his footing as his red-banded brother jumped up and grabbed on to the sidebars, the weight of his body causing the ladder to shake. Leo felt his heart slam apprehensively inside his body, the large dose of adrenaline coursing through his veins as if he were on speed, causing both his body and mind to be more hyperaware of Raph; the presence of his body growing closer and closer with each step he took.

A rough and slightly sweaty hand coiled around Leo's ankle like a serpent wrapping around its prey, causing him to yelp as he was yanked down forcefully, his chin nearly connecting with one of the steps. He growled, aggravated, holding on to the ladder for dear life before he felt the weight of a rough, rigid body clambering over, catching Leo off guard as he sneered in annoyance.

A rough jab in the plastron nearly made Raph double over, however, he kept his body firm to the ladder, making sure he didn't budge while he and Leo locked themselves in a fierce battle, trying to knock the other out of the way as they attempted with great difficulty to scale to the top.

"Move it, Jungle Boy!" Raph snarled.

Leo grunted, feeling a hard jab near his shoulder. "I'm not letting you win this time, Raph."

"Cut the bullshit, Leo. Just admit that you ain't Mr. Hot Shit 'round these parts anymore."

"Actions speak louder than words."

"Kiss ass."

"Ego maniac."

"Splinter Junior!"

"Hothead!"

The bolts of the metal ladder creaked and whined as the weight of its holders made it sway uncontrollably, begging for both turtles to reach that one final step. With a push here and shove there, a curse word here and a blow to the ego there, two individual hands finally reached over the railing as the owners of said hands hoisted themselves up and both the leader and the hothead tucked their bodies and rolled onto the roof, both emitting similar _'oof' _noises. Immediately, the two brothers picked themselves up, both eyeing what they assumed was the loser before putting the Flash to shame as they ran swiftly towards the bright, flashing neon lights in streaks of green, they're eyes narrowed in fierce determination, edging closer and closer near the target zone.

So close. _So close…!_

"**I win**!"

The eerie sound of the chilling, early fall wind cut through the air as muddy brown eyes met honey hazel irises, both igniting flames of intensity as each brother huffed and puffed breathlessly, two hands pressed against the neon sign.

Silence hung in the air as they filled their empty lungs with the deliciousness of oxygen, staring each other down as if waiting for the other to tear their hand off the sign and admit defeat, crowning the other the winner. However, both knew neither of them was willing to lose their pride and pop their ego, giving the other the satisfaction of sweet victory, especially when the prize was getting to rub it in the loser's face for an entire month.

With the sound of bumping club music echoing from beneath them, Leo finally felt his stern features soften as he stared at his brother, feeling as though something were amiss or out of place. He looked up at the sign, actually taking the time to read what the flashing neon lights spelled out, only to have his eyes widen and his lips curl into an amused smile.

Raphael raised a curious eye ridge before he looked up and noticed the irony.

**The Ace of Spades Gambling Center and Casino: Where Everyone's a Winner**

The two brothers doubled over in laughter.

"Alright, alright, I'll admit it. Ya showed me it ain't easy takin' down someone like ya, Leo. I guess ya weren't just sittin' around on yer ass every day connectin' with nature while ya were out in the jungle."

"Likewise. You've really improved with your stamina, Raph. I'm impressed. Looks like I'm not the only one who's learned a thing or two while I was away."

Raphael shrugged, brushing the rim of his beak before hooking his thumbs inside his belt and Leo couldn't help but smile. He _missed_ moments like this. Moments that only could be shared with his brothers; his family. Sure, him and Raph may not be closest out of the group, but out of Donnie and Mikey, Raph was the one he seemed to share the fondest moments with; times of laughter, times of witty comebacks, times of just being brothers.

The blue-banded turtle sighed. How in the world did he ever think about giving all of this up? His home. His family. All of it. How did the thought even cross his mind, convincing him it was better just to not go home so he wouldn't have to face the disappointment Master Splinter would bestow on him for not completing his mission? Sure, the jungle was breathtakingly beautiful, not to mention quiet. But when it all came down to it, he could never trade it for the vociferous commotion that New York was famous for. The radiant lights. The commotion. The hustle and bustle of people treading the streets from dusk till dawn.

And of course, there was his family. Donnie's searing passion for technology. Mikey's childlike demeanor. Hell, even Raph's argumentative temper. They were all characteristics Leo grew up, watching his brothers grow in both skill and maturity; characteristics that could never be copied or carried with him in a satchel back to South America. They were unique – inimitable. And they stayed in New York, where he and his brothers belonged. Together.

Just them….

The sound of Raphael snickering near the rooftop railing snapped Leo out of his thoughts, making him raise a curious eye ridge at whatever his brother found so amusing.

The red-banded turtle turned around, noticing Leo staring at him puzzled before he motioned for him stand next to him. "C'mere, check this out."

Leonardo sighed, walking across the roof to where his brother was standing and glancing down at the streets beneath him and his eyes widened. While it had been a slow night crime-wise, the nightlife of Manhattan was surely in full swing tonight as people stumbled out of bars and restaurants with drunken smiles on their faces, laughing and shouting and taking pictures of each other, enjoying the good life and each other's company while the flashing lights and pounding music set the atmosphere for good times and nightly fun.

Leo smiled happily at the cheerful people beneath him, watching them all carry on with their lives without so much as a care in the world, blocking out the stress of life. He smiled at the group of friends who were simply out bar hopping, smiled at the business people who were ending their working hours with a good drink, even smiled at the group of giggling women that were probably kick starting their ladies night.

However, when Leo had noticed a couple walking out of a rather fancy restaurant, hand-in-hand and staring into each other's eyes before rewarding each other with a kiss, his smile seemed to falter and he immediately felt that familiar tug in his lower abdomen he had felt when he and his brothers were at Casey and April's apartment last night.

_Shell, not again…._

"Someone's gettin' laid tonight." Raphael grinned, nudging Leo in the plastron as he pointed down at the scene he had called his brother over to see.

Leo raised an eye ridge in confusion, scanning the crowds of people until he finally noticed a couple that seemed to stand out in the crowd. They were standing in front of a rather fancy restaurant – one that wouldn't even allow you in if you were dressed in anything less aristocratic than a suit and tie or a fancy cocktail dress. The girl, while dressed elegantly classy, was clinging awfully close to her date, almost as if she were expecting him to run away if she let him go. She had very heavy make-up on and an _extremely _short dress that clung to her extensive curves, making her body stand out even more in the crowd. Her date, on the other hand, was just your Average Joe with a shaggy mop for hair, not handsome, but not entirely ugly either. Personally, Leo didn't think a guy like that would have even attracted a girl like the one he was with. However, it dawned on him that this probably wasn't a serious, romantic sort of date, seeing as the girl was very preoccupied with nibbling and whispering at her date's ear, one of her hands lingering teasingly at his waistline while she undid his tie.

Raphael made a gruff noise, sounding both amused and invidious. "Some guys get all the luck, huh, Leo?"

Leonardo felt his jaw tighten as he looked away from the hot and bothered couple. "Yeah. Right." He turned around abruptly, moving as far away from the railing as possible. "Obviously if something were going to happen, it would've happened by now. I'm calling it a night."

"Woah, woah, that's it?" Raphael asked, snapping his head in the direction of his older brother. "We didn't even get to bust any heads tonight."

He noticed the rigidness in Leo's shoulders and grimaced slightly, taking a step towards his older brother but didn't bother taking any more then that after getting blasted from the radiating tension Leo was giving off.

Raph frowned. "Who the hell stuck somethin' up your ass? You were fine just a second ago." He crossed his arms over his plastron, flashing a toothy grin. "What, the sight of two raging hormonal bystanders get you all riled up or somethin'?"

Raph could hear the intense growl coming from Leo's voice as he spoke. "Look, Raph…. Just drop it, okay?"

The red-banded turtle dropped his arms to his sides. "Leo, I – fuck." He growled, his eyes focused on the ground before he forced himself to tilt his head back up. "L-look, you know I ain't good with this sort of stuff, but that don't mean I won't listen to what ya gotta say. Obviously if it's somethin' that's botherin' ya so much, I ain't gonna look the other way and pretend like everythin's all peachy keen. So … spill."

Leonardo let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge between his eyes in a fruitless attempt to calm his nerves. "Just forget it, Raph. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Leo turned around to face his brother, his eyes glazed over, as if he were looking past him. "It's just … I tasted freedom back there, Raph. In South America. It was all just so … different. Different then living here in the slums of New York, with the constant noise and the intense auras everyone carries around with them. Over there, I felt at peace. I didn't have this constant pressure I felt when I was over here. Back there, I could—" He chuckled amusingly, throwing his head back just slightly. "I could _walk_, Raphael. I didn't have to worry about who saw me or where I was going because it was just me in that jungle. Can you imagine? A vast journey of pure land that you could tread for miles and miles on end and it was all _yours_?"

Raphael smirked, his shoulders shaking slightly as he chortled to himself, letting his brother finish.

Leo looked down at the ground, noticing his shadow from the illumination of the neon lights behind him. "It'd get lonely sometimes, I'll give it that, but even though that jungle had a large stretch of land, not too far from it, there was this village. A village of kind people who I watched over, just like how I would do here with you guys…. But, it wasn't like here in the city. I felt more connected with these people because. They knew I was there, watching over them—protecting them. They knew I _existed_."

The blue-banded turtle chuckled to himself, the features in his face relaxing into a calming demeanor. "I remember young women would always bring me little boxes of food they prepared. Just for me. Sort of like a thank you for watching over them. I never talked to them, of course, but—I don't know."

Raphael grinned, leaning back against the railing with his arms crossed. "Sounds nice, havin' people actually give two shits about you when they don't even know who the hell you are."

Leo opened his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them and glanced back down at the passing bystanders without saying a word. While the hot and bothered couple seemed to have finally flagged down a taxi and took off, Leo caught a glimpse of a tamer couple exiting the same restaurant that seemed to catch his attention. Like the couple before them, these people were also trying to flag down a taxi; however, the girl wasn't groping her date like some horny tramp. No, this girl was innocently standing next to her date, helping him try to catch a taxi before she stopped to hug herself when a cool breeze came by. The guy noticed his date shivering and took the time to remove his blazer and place it over the girl's bare shoulders, smiling at her warmly. The girl smiled back, giving her date a quick peck on the cheek before her cheeks flushed coyly.

Leonardo frowned solemnly. "Don't you ever feel trapped, Raph? I mean, is this all the world has to offer us? We're devoted to our family and although that's not entirely a bad thing, still, it's all we have. All we'll _ever_ have." He looked up at his brother with a look of pleading. "Don't you ever wish we could have more? To those people"—he motioned down toward the hot and heavy couple that had left moments ago—"that may not be love, but at least they can still express some type of, of … physical intimacy."

"Ah, shit." Raph glanced away, his cheeks tinged a darker shade of green. "I mean … fuck, it's not like I don't ever think about that sort of stuff. I do! S-sometimes. I-I mean, who doesn't, right? Just 'cuz that ooze mutated us don't mean we're any less human than everybody else. We still got, uhh, needs, I-I guess…."

"Please don't turn this into something dirty, Raphael." Leo warned, thanking God it was dark out, making it hard to tell how much he was blushing right now.

"I'm not, Leo." Raph narrowed his eye ridges in a soft glare. "Why are ya askin' me this anyway? Ya plannin' on askin' a girl out sometime soon?"

Leo didn't know why, but an instant image of Sam flashed through his head, catching the turtle off guard as the powerful churning in his abdomen ricocheted through his stomach. He placed a comforting hand on his plastron like he had done last night, not caring if Raphael commented on the unusual action. To his surprise, he didn't.

"Don't get me wrong, Leo, I may be not Mr. Emotional, but that don't mean I ain't got, uhh, feelin's. I-I mean, sure it bothers me that all we go is our brothers and Master Splinter. I mean, we got Casey and April too, but—they kinda hit us with reality, ya know? Although they might not show it all too often, but what they got is—well, love. Actual, physical and emotional love."

The hotheaded turtle sighed in frustration, glancing back down at the passing bystanders. "I dunno. Every time I think about it too much, I either get so frustrated that I go to the sparing' room and have a few blows with the punchin' bag, or I just drop the idea completely." He laughed, grinning at himself. "Although that last option rarely happens."

Leo exhaled through his nostrils and slouched against the ledge of the rooftop, sliding down to the floor. "I guess we're bachelors for life."

Raphael looked up at his brother and grinned. "Aren't we lucky sons of bitches?" He paused, offering Leo a weak smile. "I could be wrong, but somethin' tells me there's a reason ya brought up this little conversation, Leo. You don't just go shootin' out speeches about loneliness and physical intimacy."

Another instant flash of Casey's cousin crossed Leo's mind, making his stomach lurch uncomfortably once again. Why was it that every time he thought about her, his stomach gave a jittery pang of discomfort? Was it guilt? Disgust that he would even consider looking at Casey's cousin in that way? After all, she hadn't even met him and his brothers yet. Who's to say she would even like them? Then again, her cousin was one of their closest friends. Of course she'd like them, but not in the way Leonardo would hope. If anything, the farthest their relationship with Casey's cousin would develop would be that of really close friends. It would be the most Leo would allow their relationship to develop … the most Casey would allow their relationship to develop….

"I—"

The sound of a car alarm pierced through the air, cutting Leo before he could finish. He looked up at Raph, who gave him a nod as they both ran to the other side of the rooftop. Judging by the sound of the car alarm, whoever had triggered it was close by, but probably moving fast.

The red-banded turtle pounded his fist against his open palm, flashing his older brother an excited grin. Leo gave his brother a faint smile as the lurching in his abdomen finally started to subside. He reached behind his shell to pull out his katana, feeling the familiar goose bumps form on his arm at hearing the _shhhhring _sound of metal escaping the confines of its holster.

"Looks like good things really do come to those who wait."

* * *

Sorry if this chapter was a little long. I tried to make it more exciting by adding Leo and Raph's little game of Ninja Tag after seeing the cut scene from the 2007 movie. I really wished they could've added that to the film. It would've been an interesting scene to watch. :)

Anywho, I hope you all liked it. :D Pretty soon we'll be getting to the slightly tragic scenes, but that's for Chapter 2. ;D So, until then, I'll see you guys next time. And remember, reviews buy the turtles more and more pizza. :D Last time they each got their very own pizza. :3 Let's see if we can give them more! :D

DFTBA, folks!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome)


	3. Birthday Bloodbath

**Author's Note: **Good morrow, readers! :D Happy Father's Day to any of you dads out there. Of course, I had to spend the day working, so I didn't really get to spend any time with my own dad. :P But I'll make it up to him next week for his birthday. :)

Anywho! I'm glad I'm finally finished with this chapter. I dunno, does anyone feel like this story is moving a tad bit slow? I know this is kind of only the second chapter. Maybe it's just me being a little self-cautious seeing as this is my first TMNT story and I wanna try to get it absolutely perfect. Dx I am happy though that we're finally getting to some action. I love writing fight scenes and hopefully there will be more to come later on in the story. Be warned, there is blood later on in this chapter. Lots of blood. Mwahaha!

So! Before I get on with this chapter, I want to thank everyone who sent me fabulous reviews. Thank you very much **adventuresstime**, **SleepingSeeker**, **CGKrows**, **Laurenadel's story**, **Snow Wolf Alpha**, **lunexa**, and **jacquiestevens6**. You guys totally rock! XD Also, big big BIG thanks to **AlexHamato **for all the tips and pointers. :) You also rock! XD

Alright! So without any further adieu, here's Chapter 2! Hope y'all like it. :D**  
**

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 2**

**Birthday Bloodbath**

* * *

**Friday**

Samantha Jones exhaled a small, surprised _'oof'_, the weight of the glossy, cerulean bag nearly crushing the top of her thighs. She could faintly see her reflection replicated on the bag as she pulled out the small note tucked securely between the white and blue polka dotted tissue paper protruding from the opening, her eyes scanning the scraggily writing on the note.

Sam grinned. "From Casey and April. Happy Birthday, Short Stack."

Casey shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "I tried telling April here that you eventually went through a growth spurt, but she insisted on writing Short Stack."

April nudged her boyfriend hard in the ribs, shooting him a playful glare before flashing in a smile. Casey winced slightly at the tremendous force behind his girlfriend's arm and cautiously wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in a half-hug before planting a quick kiss on top of her head, making her smile.

Sam didn't waste any time tearing into her present, tossing away the decorated tissue paper like a fiend, not really caring where it landed on the floor – although she made a mental note to quickly pick it up after she was done opening the rest of her presents. After all, until she would get used to living with Casey and April in their apartment, she would act like a guest and when she was a guest in other people's homes, she didn't go off making messes that they would have to clean up.

After she tossed out the last bit of tissue paper, Sam's hand bumped against a hard box, making her eyebrows knit together in curiosity. She slipped her other hand inside and pulled the box out of the shiny blue bag. Her light green eyes lit up with pure excitement.

"Kick butt! Some new blades!" Sam exclaimed, her face awash with joyous jubilation, making Casey think of a little kid on Christmas morning. Sam stared down at the box mesmerized, her fingers grazing over the picture of her brand new roller skates; a pair of midnight black blades with a striking blue pattern etched on the sides, giving them a cool, excessive flare that made Sam grin from ear to ear. She looked up at Casey and April, hugging the box to her chest. "You and April rock, Cuz. Thanks!"

Casey shrugged modestly while April laughed, wrapping her arms around Casey's waist. "I'm glad you like them, Sam. Casey did tell me you have a keen eye for the color blue."

"Wise choice, Case." Sam winked, setting her present carefully next to her while she scanned the floor, keeping an eye out for any presents she may have missed. "I think that's all of 'em." Sam reported, looking up at her guests and saying her thanks for all the wonderful gifts she had received.

Mr. Jones glanced up at the glowing, digital numbers that read the time on his nephew's oven. 10:34 pm. He drummed his fingers restlessly against the wall he was currently leaning against as he watched a few guests grab their coats and walk over to wish Sam one more happy birthday. With a low grunt, Mr. Jones straightened himself up and quickly exited the living room, making sure to brush his wife, Madeline Jones's shoulder, letting her know he was going to step outside for a bit before he made his way toward the door. Sam managed to glance up beforehand, watching as her dad left the room in a blur, grabbing his jacket on the coat rack before stepping out. She looked over at her mom, who glanced up at Sam and offered her a small, forced smile, the laugh lines near her lips crinkling as she frowned.

Sam's fingers curled into small fists.

(-)

He knew when it was going to happen. He was aware of the signs, the way his body reacted before it happened. For sixteen years, Mr. Jones knew when he was on the verge of slipping into the pit falls of a mild panic attack. His fingers would start to drum rapidly against any surface they could find, his palms would sweat, and if he let it progress any further, he'd start hyperventilating – to the point where he thought his lungs were actually going to burst.

Of course, this didn't start happening until a little after him and his wife had moved back to Northampton. With a baby on the way and no steady income, stress quickly began eating away at Mr. Jones's sanity, dragging him deeper down into the dark rabbit hole of trepidation. There were days when he couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. Hell, even going to the bathroom seemed like a chore. He truly believed he was one day going to have a heart attack right on his doorstep and keel over before he even got the chance to see his precious daughter. But one day at one of the shit jobs he managed to take up in Northampton, a coworker offered him a cigarette – told Mr. Jones it would calm his nerves and relieve his stress. He took a drag and the rest was history.

For the next sixteen years, he felt as though he were back to himself. Sure, he still felt the heavy impact of stress once in a while, but not nearly as bad as before he started smoking. Whenever he took that first drag of the day, it was like someone flipped a switch and de-stressed his entire body, giving him the patience and energy to make it through the rest of the day; almost like an energy drink. However, as the years went by and Sam got a little bit older, Mr. Jones figured it was time to quit and give up the smokes for good. The only problem was, the moment he went without a cigarette, he'd start to feel the signs again. Sweaty palms, jittery fingers, palpitating heartbeat. It was like the stress had come back, only ten times worse, wrapping it's fingers forcefully around his throat and suffocating him, making him feel like if he didn't have a cigarette at that very moment, he was going to die. That's when Mr. Jones knew that he had dragged himself too far down and he was now in the pitfalls of nicotine addiction.

So, he never quit.

With a long exhale, Mr. Jones could already feel his pulsing nerves subsiding as he reached inside his pocket, feeling the smooth grooves of his special cigarette lighter – the one with his initials carved right along the side. He pulled that out along with a brand new packet of Marlboro's, tapping the bottom of the carton with his palm in a sporadic beat. Already, he could feel his nerves jerk with excitement, knowing the calming effect was coming soon as he brought the first cigarette of the night up to his mouth. He held it securely between his lips as he lit the tip watching it ignite into a tiny fireball of cherry red.

Mr. Jones closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, a trail of smoke leaving his lips, spreading to form a hazy cloud that engulfed around him. He could already feel the tight knots in his muscles loosen up and relax, allowing him to unwind as he was dragged deep into a calming stupor, his nerves finally subsiding. He was so engrossed on the intense affect of his first cigarette of the night that he didn't even hear the double entrance doors open behind him, nor did he hear the frustrated tapping of his daughter's foot as she crossed her arms and glared daggers behind his back.

His attention was finally grasped when he heard those harsh words cut through his eardrums.

"Unbelievable." Sam snorted. "Well, I guess I can give you props for holding out so long on your precious little smokes enough to wait until I was done opening my presents." She huffed, her words dripping with utter sarcasm.

Mr. Jones let out a low grunt, his eyes closed with his back still turned away from his daughter. He brought the cigarette back up to his lips and inhaled before speaking. "Please don't start with me, Sam. Not tonight."

Sam's arms uncrossed to place her hands on her hips. "You know I'm still waiting for you to hold up on that promise you made when I was, what, _eight years old_. After you had that coughing fit to the point where Mom was on the verge of calling the hospital because you couldn't breathe."

"Samantha." Mr. Jones tilted his head, his tone etched in warning.

"What is it going to take, Dad?" She asked, her voice now rising in volume due to the fact that her dad still had his back turned away from her. "Do I have to point a gun at your head in order to get you to give up on the cigarettes? Is it so goddamn hard to just admit that you have a problem—"

"—_Samantha Nicole Jones_!" Mr. Jones barked; his stained, yellow teeth from years of smoking bore furiously, making him look like a fierce dragon as the cigarette smoke filtered through his nostrils.

Sam winced slightly, feeling the ferocity drip from the contents of her full name being shouted out from her father's slightly chapped lips as he stared her down as if contemplating on hitting her.

She stared down at his hands, one holding that horrid cancer stick and the other clenched in a tight fist. Her eyes lingered on that fist and immediately, her thoughts began to race. She knew he'd never hit her. No matter how frustrated or upset her dad got, he'd never hit her or her mom. She couldn't say much for the walls at their house, but to hit his own daughter? No, it would never escalate to that and Sam knew it.

So why did she feel so intimidated?

For a while, nothing could be heard but the eerie sound of the wind covering over the awkward silence that now kept Mr. Jones and his daughter separated. For a while, they did nothing but stare at each other, either waiting for the other to say something or just letting the silence calm them both down before they felt it okay to speak again.

Mr. Jones let his fingers uncurl from their grip as he stared up at Sam, waiting for her to say something. Anything. But when he realized was going to be coming out of her mouth until he said something first, he growled in frustration and brought the nearly finished cigarette to his lips, staring down at the ground with his hands shoved deep inside his pockets. "I—I'm sorry."

Sam narrowed her eyes unyieldingly. "You know it's not impossible to quit, Dad. You _know _that, right?"

"It's not that simple, sweetheart."

Sam threw her arms in the air exasperatedly. "There're millions of things that could help you quit, Dad! There's the patch. There's pills. There's therapy. There's—"

"—Samantha," Mr. Jones spoke, letting out a tired sigh before pulling the cigarette away from his lips before dropping it to the floor and putting it out with the bottom of his shoe. Sam watched her dad, almost hypnotized, nearly jumping in apprehension when she felt him place a soothing hand on top of her shoulder, staring into her grayish-green eyes.

"I _know _there are a bunch of things that could help me quit smoking cigarettes, sweetie. Believe me, you're not the only one who's so hell-bent on getting me to stop." He smiled tilting his daughter's chin up before she could stare at the ground. "But what you and your mom don't understand is that I've been smoking for almost two decades. It's been in my system far too long for me to just snap my fingers and wake up a nonsmoker. It's going to take some time."

Sam's eye narrowed into a hard glare. "How much time is it going to take?"

Mr. Jones pressed his lips into a thin line as he stared down at the ground. He sighed, forcing himself to smile before he lifted up his head again, praying to God that his daughter didn't see through his uncertainty. "I'll quit soon, sweetie. I promise."

Sam looked down at her shoes in dejection, her bangs curtaining over her evergreen eyes. Mr. Jones's smile immediately faltered before he tilted Sam's chin up and flashed her a warm smile. "Tell you what. How about you head inside while I finish getting some fresh air and your mom and I will give you your special birthday gift. Does that sound good?"

Before Sam could open her mouth, she heard the small creak of the entrance doors to the apartment complex behind her and her dad opening. She glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of her friends all huddled together, each holding their coats and plates wrapped over in tinfoil, most likely for the leftover cake.

"Come on, Sam. Megan wants to take some group pics before we head out." Taylor smiled, waving her digital camera back and forth as if prompting her to come along.

Sam looked up at her dad, as if waiting for him to give her permission on whether or not to head back inside. Mr. Jones smiled down at his daughter, patting her on the shoulder before letting his arms fall down to his sides. "I'll meet you back inside."

"Okay," Sam spoke slowly, her eyes flashing a small hint of concern before she started walking towards the door where her friends were waiting for her. Her steps were slow, dragging on as if she were hesitant of being this far away from her dad. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as her dad flashed her a calm smile, giving her a small nod as if signaling her to continue hanging out with her friends inside. Sam smiled meekly back at her dad, her hands rested on the side of the door before she followed her friends inside, pulling herself in the conversation they had continued before coming outside to get her.

Mr. Jones let out a small breath, his eyes fixated on the cigarette he had put out just moments ago. He frowned, disillusioned at himself as he shoved his hands inside his pockets and pulled out a small box.

At first, Mr. Jones just stared at it, as if contemplating what could be inside, even though he was well aware of the small, sterling silver charm bracelet tucked securely inside the box. He and his wife had gotten it the day before they had left for New York while Sam was at a friend's house and although his wife was convinced that their daughter would've liked the diamond-studded heart-shaped necklace instead, Mr. Jones knew Sam better than that. While she had a girlier side to her and loved to dress in skirts and pretty blouses from time to time, Mr. Jones knew his daughter was a tomboy at heart. If she wasn't reading or figure skating, she was out at the skate park wearing out those banged up roller skates of hers or at the edge of the living room couch screaming at the Boston Bruins or the New York Rangers on TV. Hell, she even refused to get sucked into the whole _Twilight _phenomenon, thank God. If that girl wasn't drooling over sissy, sparkly vampires than Mr. Jones figured he didn't raise an ordinary daughter.

He smiled down at the box, brushing his thumb over the top before opening it, revealing the bracelet. Both he and his wife had already started off the bracelet before they bought it, each adding a charm of their own, giving Sam the option of adding her own charms whenever she felt like it. His wife had picked out a charm in the shape of an open book, symbolizing Sam's love for reading while Mr. Jones had picked out a lone ice skate, adorned with a tiny blue ribbon, seeing as blue was their daughter's absolute favorite color. His smile broadened as he gazed at the bracelet, watching it glimmer underneath the bright streetlights. But in a split second, too quickly for Mr. Jones to even process what had happened, a full force was knocked into him, making Mr. Jones double over, the bracelet flying abruptly out of his hand.

Mr. Jones landed on the cold concrete with a hard thump, a sharp curse escaping through his gritted teeth as he felt the harsh pain electrocute up his spine. He opened his eyes, so preoccupied with the fact that he could've thrown out his back that he hadn't even realized his eyes were shut. As he shook his head, trying to get his bearings before picking himself, he looked over at the asshole that knocked into him, debating on whether he should do the polite thing and offer to help the person up or just help himself up. Mr. Jones thoughts didn't go that far before he was hoisted up by the collar of his coat, catching a flash of a short, spiked Mohawk with purple tips and pissed off muddy brown eyes.

"Who the _fuck _do you think you are, old man?" the punk spat, his nostrils flaring furiously, making his ridiculous nose that reminded Mr. Jones of a bull glimmer underneath the street lights as he sprayed Mr. Jones with a shower of his own saliva as he shouted.

Mr. Jones squinted to prevent from getting shot in the eye and sneered at the punk, bringing his arm to his face to wipe off any residue spittle. "Well, if I were to show you my badge, son, it'll tell you I'm Office Go Fuck Yourself."

The punk scoffed rudely, shoving Mr. Jones back almost rough enough to knock him back down to the ground. "You ain't a cop, ya old shit."

"And apparently you ain't a rocket scientist." Mr. Jones smirked, eyeing the fierce dragon tattoo that coiled around the punk's right arm. He narrowed his eyes in a hard glare. "I may not be a cop, but I'm not so old to where I'm incapable of dialing nine-one-one. So I suggest you do probably the only smart thing you've ever done in your life and walk away, _young man_."

The punk with the dragon tattoo snarled, his hands tightening into hard fists as the sound of racing footsteps echoed from around the corner. Mr. Jones, however, was more preoccupied with figuring out where he had dropped Sam's bracelet as he scanned the ground around him almost frantically, only faintly listening to the sound of other voices from where the punk was still standing.

"Yo, Fang, we gotta split!"

"Yeah, man, the cops're prob'ly already on their way after we set off that car alarm."

Mr. Jones heard nothing but silence after that, figuring the punks had ran off, not wanting to get themselves caught by the police after doing whatever the hell they did to that car they had mentioned. He shook his head slowly and crouched down to get a better look for the bracelet. He hoped those little shitheads got themselves caught. After the asshole with the purple-tipped Mohawk knocked Mr. Jones over and tried picking a fight with him when it was the dipshit's own fault for not watching where he was going; those punks deserved whatever was coming to them.

After catching a faint glimmer right at the corner of his eye, Mr. Jones quickly snapped his attention towards his left, figuring he finally found Sam's bracelet. However, before he could reach over and grab it, a heavy, spiked combat boot forced itself on top of his hand, crushing it forcefully against the cool concrete while a greedily, meaty hand swiped up the bracelet. Mr. Jones forced himself not to scream from the white-hot searing pain that shot up his arm, but couldn't stop himself from letting out a gruff swear word.

A flash of yellow teeth glimmered down at him as the owner of the spiked combat boot crouched down and stared at Mr. Jones with mocking brown eyes. "Lose something, old man?"

"The fuck is this?" the punk with the meaty hands asked, eyeing the bracelet as if it were a foreign object. "A charm bracelet?"

"Charms go for some serious green, man." Another punk said, this one a scrawny, almost mousy-looking creep with a Justin Bieber cut that looked like he had bathed it in grease.

Fang – the punk that had knocked into Mr. Jones in the beginning – smirked devilishly before turning his attention back down, channeling as much weight as he could into his heavy combat boot, enjoying the sight of Mr. Jones's face turning bright red from the sheer pain congregating in his arm. "Think of it as an 'I'm sorry' present for not steppin' outta my way when I was comin' through, old man."

Mr. Jones snarled angrily, staring back down at his arm, as if silently pleading for Fang to remove his big, Hot Topic rip off combat boot and allowing him the dignity to at least walk away with just a possible sprain and a bruised ego. With a low chuckle and a shake of the head, Fang must've read into Mr. Jones's thoughts as he spat out one last rude remark before removing his foot, turning his back on Mr. Jones before following up with his punk ass buddies, who were all preoccupied with how much money they were going to be able to get with the bracelet they now had in their possession.

Big mistake.

Before his common sense had a chance to yell at him at how fucking stupid this way, Mr. Jones ran straight toward Fang while he still had his back turned and karate-chopped him right on the side of his throat. He remembered reading somewhere that the throat was one of the most sensitive areas of the body and he had seen a handful of martial arts movies enough to where a karate chop seemed like it'd do enough damage to render the bad guy unconscious.

Just like the movies, Fang timbered straight to the ground like a freshly chopped tree, crashing against the concrete sidewalk with a rough thud and a rather loud curse.

"There's your 'I'm sorry' present, asshole." Mr. Jones sneered, ignoring the intense pain radiating from the side of his hand after it connected with Fang's throat.

While the other two punks were taken aback by Mr. Jones's sudden attack, he used this to his advantage and managed to snatch the charm bracelet out of Tubby's beefy fingers and kicked him in the shin just in case he snapped out of his stupor in time to charge after him. He eyed the entrance to the apartment complex, but Scrawny must've realized that that was Mr. Jones's home base and quickly stepped in front, blocking his way of escape as he unhooked the metal chain he had connected to his belt loop and twirled it menacingly, cackling like a mad man as he stepped closer towards Mr. Jones.

A low groan could be heard from behind as Mr. Jones glanced over his shoulder and saw that Fang was beginning to pick himself up. He swore under his breath and made a mad dash into the street, nearly running into a taxicab that came to a screeching halt and honked irritably at him as he kept on running. He reached inside his pocket but to his dismay, he realized that he had left his cell phone inside the apartment, figuring he wouldn't need it when he was only going to be outside for a few minutes for a couple of smokes.

"Dammit." Mr. Jones swore, looking up to see where in fact he was running off too, only to skid to an abrupt halt, his eyes wide with apprehensive realization.

A brick wall tarnished with graffiti stared back at Mr. Jones as he backed away slowly, frantically searching his surroundings until it finally dawned on him – he had run into an abandoned alleyway. And although his thoughts were screaming at him to turn around and get back into the streets as quickly as possible, Mr. Jones found himself trapped when he saw three cackling figures blocking his only way out.

"This old shit's got alotta nerve doin' what he did." Tubby smirked, stepping into the alleyway holding a rusty crowbar Mr. Jones hadn't even realized the punk had on him.

"Should we teach him what happens when ya mess with the Purple Dragons?" Scrawny asked, the whirl of his chain echoing through Mr. Jones's ears, making his heart leap into his throat as he backed away slowly. It didn't take him long before he was pressed against the graffiti-coated brick wall, the icy chill of the divider making Mr. Jones shiver frigidly as beads of sweat trickled down his face. He watched the Dragons step closer and closer towards him, all three grinning from ear to ear, each holding a menacing weapon in their hands that gave Mr. Jones the familiar feeling of slipping into a panic attack.

He shut his eyes tight, as if imagining the punks disappearing would actually do the trick and Mr. Jones would find himself back in his nephew's apartment, cutting himself a third slice of cake while April made everyone coffee, laughing and watching a rerun of a Rangers game on TV while they all talked about how nice Sam's party was and how him and his wife were going to miss her while she stayed in New York and finished school and eventually made her way to college. He wouldn't be here. He wouldn't be pressed up against a frozen wall, trapped like a helpless animal surrounded by three hungry predators with no way out, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nowhere to look except into the eyes of the maniacs waiting to beat the life out of him with the rusty, metal weapons they held in their hands, their devilish grins piercing straight through his heart until Mr. Jones silently began wishing for the heart attack that was palpitating through his chest to just end his life now. End it before these punks did as they stepped closer and closer, raising their arms for that first swing and….

The sound of a body hitting hard against the floor, followed by a nasty crack and an earsplitting scream could be heard bouncing off the dirty walls of the alleyway, making Mr. Jones flinch, his eyes refusing to open. Metal clanged against steel. Someone swore under their breath. The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard slamming against the concrete, tearing through Mr. Jones's eardrums as he pressed his body closer against the wall, afraid that those footsteps were charging after him.

"Leo! Six o'clock!"

_Leo? _Mr. Jones raised a curious eyebrow, his eyes still closed as he tried listening intently on the voice that had just spoken over the sound of harsh grunts and banging noises. It didn't sound like it belonged to any of the punks that had him cornered, from what Mr. Jones could remember. It was gruff-sounding and had an edge to it, yes, but it sounded—almost younger. Like it belonged to a teenager.

The pounding footsteps drawing closer suddenly stopped and another scream could be heard until it grew fainter and fainter, followed by the sound of a silent _'oof'_. The clashing metal soon came to an abrupt halt and after three seconds ticked on by, Mr. Jones heard nothing else but the sound of the wind brushing against his shivering body.

_Was it over? _He thought, listening to the sound of cold steel _shhhring _against something, almost like it was being put into a holster. The sound caught Mr. Jones off guard, making him lose his balance as he slid to the floor, brining his arms up against his face.

What was happening? Who else was here? How many of them were their? Was he still going to get out of this alive or was he going to be staring into the face of someone else wanting to take his life?

At first, Mr. Jones just sat their frozen, keeping his arms up and his eyes shut tight. He felt the presence of two bodies standing before him, unsure of how tall or how short they were seeing as his sense of height was kind of at a disadvantage with him being so low to the ground. The silence was slowly eating away at him with each second that ticked on by. Eventually, one of them spoke and Mr. Jones's body stiffened apprehensively.

"Is he hurt?" The gruff one asked.

"I don't think?" Said the one referred to as Leo.

"Should we check?" The gruff one asked slowly.

Silence. Nothing but silence. It was enough to peak Mr. Jones's curiosity, especially when the Leo never responded to the gruff one's question. With a shaky breath, Mr. Jones gently lifted his eyelids open, peaking through the slim opening between his two arms as he tried catching a small glimpse of his two saviors – or new predators. It was dark and difficult to see, especially with the bright dots messing up Mr. Jones's vision after keeping his eyes forcibly shut for so long.

"S-sir?" Leo spoke, his voice sounding both vexed, yet collected.

Mr. Jones could faintly make-out a dark figure crouching down at his level, reaching a passive hand towards him with the utmost gentleness, giving off a calming aura that seemed to radiate off his body.

Mr. Jones slowly began lowering his arms.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see if you're—"

Mr. Jones's eyes widened suddenly as he pushed all the weight into his legs and charged forward, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder and pushing him back.

"Look out—!"

"—You mother fucking ninja shits!"

_SHHHHHHRRRRRING_

A sticky liquid, warm and flowing. A white-hot flare of intense pain. Silence.

Mr. Jones felt as though his legs were gone – like he was just floating in mid air with his arms spread out and his head dropping. His eyes were as wide as trashcan lids, his pupils jolting with horror as he watched streams of dark crimson gush from his chest and on to the ground, splattering in a pool that seemed to be spreading wider and wider.

Blood. _His_ blood. Blood that he was losing—rapidly….

(-)

Leonardo stood paralyzed in his tracks, watching the blood from the man him and Raph had saved from those Purple Bastards gush from the fresh wound. It all happened so fast, even for him – a highly trained martial artist who should've sensed the attacker before he was even able to strike. But he didn't and the only one who was paying the price right now was the man him and his brother failed to save from harm's way.

As the man's body began to sway, Leo forcibly snapped himself out of his stupor and moved quickly, catching him before he fell backward and cracked his skull. He stared down at the wound, immediately tearing the man's soaked shirt open, revealing the deep slice that grazed straight down to about an inch or two above his bellybutton.

Leo felt his breath hitch as his hands began shaking, hovering over the wound with a million thoughts racing through his head. Dammit, if only Don were here with them. He seemed to always have medical tools at hand whenever someone was injured and did the best out of all of them under pressure – a skill Leo wished he possessed right now.

He looked up at Raph, who was shouting obscene profanities at the Dragon as him and his goons ran off, making the red-banded turtle clench his sai's furiously. Immediately, Leo looked down at the man, who was breathing low, shallow breaths through clenched teeth, making the blue-banded turtle's heartbeat furiously in panic, his eyes darting back and forth nervously before they finally landed on his shirt.

"Raph, come help me." Leo commanded, gently lifting up the man and slipping his shirt off of him. Raphael did as he was told and ran towards his brother, getting down on his knees as he helped remove the blood-soaked shirt. "I need you to wring out as much blood as you can and press it against his wound. It'll stop the blood from flowing out more."

Raph nodded, getting the shirt and wringing it out, his teeth clenched in repulsion at all the blood that seemed to drip onto the ground. He did as Leo had instructed and balled the shirt up before placing it over the gash, applying enough pressure to where he felt like he wasn't crushing the man.

Leo forced his breathing to return to a calming pace, although found it difficult as he noticed the man's face draining in color until he was pale white. The blue-banded turtle's heart thudded hard in his chest, his brain wracking for anything he could, anything he could say or retrieve to help this man that was slowly slipping away into darkness, the blood gushing from his wound now seeping through his balled up shirt and staining Raphael's hands.

_What do I do? Dammit, what do I do! _

"_Dad! Dad, where are you?"_

Leo's head perked up, as did Raphael's as both boys glanced outside the alleyway, noticing a teenage girl standing outside an apartment complex, her face etched with worry.

Leonardo's eyes widened. "Sam?"

Raph looked down at the injured man, his fingers feeling warm and wet as he studied the man's face, his honey-glazed eyes widening in sudden realization. "L-Leo. I—I think … t-this guy is—"

"—Casey's uncle. Sam's father!"

Raphael suddenly felt as though the blood was also draining from his face. "Shit. W-what do we—hey! Leo!"

He reached out a hand, coiling his fingers around his brother's wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks. "What the hell do you think yer doing?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"If we don't do anything soon, Sam's dad is going to _die_, Raphael."

"If this is Casey's uncle then we can contact him on our Shell Cell's and tell him to get help."

Leo shook his head, yanking his wrist free as he stared down at his brother. "We don't have much time. Sam is _right there _and she most likely has a cell phone on her. If we call her over and split before she enters through the alleyway, she can get her dad some help and won't even see us."

"But—"

"—Raph! Please."

The red-banded turtle grit his teeth, tearing his eyes away from Leo to look down at Mr. Jones, feeling the shirt harden from the drying bits of blood. He looked back up at his brother and nodded as if silently giving Leo permission to carry on with his task. Leo nodded back and ran farther down the alleyway, cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting.

"Sam! Sam, over here!" He shouted.

Sam's head perked up as she searched the empty streets, her eyes bouncing in different directions.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he shouted again. "Sam! Sam, please, come quickly!"

"W-who's there?" Sam asked, hugging herself as she took a frightening step back.

"Sam, please! Your dad is hurt! You need to get help _now_!"

"Dad?" Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow, her attention finally landing on the darkened alleyway where Leo and Raph were located. Her eyebrows narrowed in light anger. "Who are you? What did you do to my dad!"

Leo's shoulders slumped as he frowned, but he continued to yell. "Sam, please, come over here and get help! Please, Sam, he needs your help right now!"

Sam's eyes widened as she dashed across the street, not even bothering looking both ways to make sure there were no cars heading her way. Leo immediately turned around and raced towards Raph, touching him on the shoulder as a signal that they needed to leave. Raphael did as he was told and gently placed Mr. Jones in a lying down position, following his brother's lead as they leapt onto a dumpster and hoisted themselves on top of the brick wall, using their ninja skills to climb up the rest of the building before they were securely on the rooftops.

Leo watched as Sam entered the alleyway, her steps slowing down as she searched her surroundings, her stance timid and apprehensive.

"H-hello? Dad? Dad, where are you?" she called out, taking dawdling step after dawdling step before she heard an agonizing groan echo throughout the alleyway, making her jump until she noticed the dark figure laying on the ground, a glimmering pool of liquid surrounding his body.

Leo felt his heart tug vexingly at the shattering poignant cry in Sam's voice that sounded as though it were close to tears.

"_DAAAAD_!"

* * *

**Oh how I love cliffhangers. ;) Well, tell me what you guys think. :D I promise I won't be totally evil and will post up the next chapter as soon as humanly possible. But, until then, requests are welcome, reviews are loved. :3**

**DFTBA! (Don't Forget to Be Awesome)  
**


	4. Her Guardian Angel

**Author's Note: **Another week, another chapter. ;) What is _up _my fellow fan fic readers? :D

Now, I will admit, while this chapter wasn't all too difficult to write like all the previous chapters have been for some reason, I did get a tad bit lazy and kind of pushed working on this chapter to the side for a little bit. But it was all in good reason! Summer classes are kicking my _ass _this semester and have been keeping me away from just sitting down and getting to write what I love. But, I managed to get this chapter done on time. :D I'm gonna try to make it a regular thing where I update at least every week and a half. Unless I'm way too busy with school. D:

However, the whole school situation shouldn't be much of a problem for now seeing as I'm, sadly, going to be dropping my Fundamentals of Acting class. TwT Guess my goal of passing two classes during a summer course won't be rendering itself successful this year. Oh well. :P But! Enough about that. Let's get on with the chapter, but before I do that, I want to thank everyone who reviewed for Chapter 2. Thanks a bundle **Laurenadel story's **(I'll thank you twice since you reviewd twice, so thank you, thank you!), **Sleeping Seeker**, **BubblyShell22**, **lunexa**, and **Detective-Yellow-Turtle**. You guys all rock and keep the reviews coming! :D

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own nor will I ever own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But hey, I can dream, can't I? TwT Rights to Samantha Jones and any other characters you may not have seen in the cartoons, comics, video games, etc. belong solely to me. :)

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 3**

**Her Guardian Angel**

* * *

**Saturday**

Four hundred and seventy-six times. That's how many times the clock had been ticking away since the last time Sam looked up to check the time. Four hundred and seventy-six times. Such a big number. Such a deceiving number, because when it came down to it, only, what, not even _eight minutes _had passed by? Eight minutes and they were still all sitting around in an empty waiting room, all patiently waiting for the doctor to give them some type of news. _Any _type of news for that matter. Was he going to be okay? Were the doctors able to stitch up his injuries? Did they make it to the hospital on time or were they too late? Was her dad going to make a full recovery or was he laying on an operation table somewhere, bleeding out while the doctors looked down upon his unconscious body, shaking their heads and coming to the conclusion that there was nothing else they could do….

Sam ground her teeth so hard it hurt her jaw, her fingers tightening around her arms that were folded over her chest as she leaned against a nearby wall while everyone else sat in chairs. The sound of her mom's frantic crying had softened to a series of sniffles and the occasional nose-blowing while Casey and April both sat in silence, adding fuel to the tension-engulfed fire. Ever since they arrived at the hospital, no one had said a thing. What exactly was there to say? "He's going to be okay"? How did they all know that for sure? The gash on his chest ran nearly a foot long! Practically all the way down to his bellybutton. This wasn't _ER _where flights of doctors and nurses and physicians all stormed into the lobby with a gurney and clipboards and whatever the hell else doctors and nurses and physicians carried around with them and wheeled her dad to the nearest operating room. This was actual real _life_ – where people don't always make it back through the double doors alive or slip into a coma that they'll eventually wake up from or even brush shoulders with Death Himself and be given a second chance at life. No. Her dad was in there, laying on an operating table somewhere, surrounded by doctors and nurses and physicians with their medical tools and medical knowledge, and even with all of that – even with all that help and information and mental experience – even with _all_ of that stuff … there could still be a chance her dad won't make it out alive….

Sam's eyes narrowed furiously as she extended her leg and kicked the nearest chair in front of her, letting out a frustrated groan as she pushed herself off the wall and took a few steps away from April, Casey, and her mom, her hands grasping both sides of her head. This was all her fault. If she had just stayed outside with her dad – if she would've just ignored his orders about going back inside, then maybe … maybe….

Sam's body tensed as she felt a relaxed hand rest upon her shoulder, gentle dark brown eyes staring down at her as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Hey, why don't you sit down with us, kiddo." A request, not a question.

Sam avoided Casey's gaze and stared down at the floor, noticing the tiny droplets of her father's blood decorated on the white parts of her Converse and her stomach lurched. She shook her head gently and took a step back from her cousin, her eyes rimmed with tears. "I should've stayed outside with him, Casey. My dad's going to bleed out and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have left him outside all by himself. I shouldn't—"

"—Hey, hey. Calm down, okay, Sam. Just calm down." Casey hushed, noticing the tears sliding down his cousin's face before placing both hands on Sam's shoulders, feeling her body shudder as she tried miserably to hold in her sobs. "You know this isn't your fault, right? There's no way you could've known that something like this was going to happen. You did the best you could by calling us outside, Sam. Now your dad is getting help. He's in a safe place now."

The sound of heels clinking against linoleum could be heard from inside the waiting room and everyone seemed to brace themselves at a standstill. Eight pairs of eyes stared at the open entranceway as a nurse with a clipboard in her hand greeted everyone with a small smile and a nod.

"Are you all the family of Mister Christopher Jones?"

Casey wet his lips and removed his hands from Sam's shoulders, taking a few steps toward the nurse. "Yes, we are. How's he doing?"

The nurse stared down at her clipboard, flipping through a few pages casually. Sam stood with her teeth clenched. How could anyone act so casually under the current circumstances?

"Well, you managed to get him here on time. His injuries were extremely series and had you not have gotten him here so quickly, he most likely would've bled out. The doctor's are performing surgery at the moment and it could take about a couple of hours before they're done stitching up the wound. It was a nasty gash, but not as deep as we had presumed. He should have no trouble making a full recovery."

"Oh, thank God." Mrs. Jones cried, dabbing away a series of fresh tears that streamed down her cheeks while April handed her a fresh handful of tissues, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Casey ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, letting out a breath of relief before grabbing hold of the nurse's hand and giving it a vibrant shake. "Thank you, Nurse. Thank you."

As the nurse stepped out of the waiting room, Sam felt as though someone had filled her body with helium. She placed a hand over her lips, feeling the familiar sensation of upcoming tears, but no tears were shed. She let herself plop onto the nearest chair and released a sigh of relief mixed with a jubilant chuckle as she ran her fingers through her hair and stared up at the ceiling.

_He's going to be okay, _she thought, feeling the tension in every muscle in her body finally unwind and relax. _He's going to be okay. _

"Samantha," Mrs. Jones called, snapping Sam out of her light trance as her head lolled in her direction. Mrs. Jones straightened herself a little, her eyes flitting from Casey, to April, to her Sam before she wet her lips and forced herself to speak. "Honey, April's going to be taking you back to the apartment. It's already extremely late and you need your sleep. Casey and I will give you two a call when they start letting visitors in."

"Wait, what?" Sam shot up from her seat, the legs of the chair scraping against the carpeted floor. "Mom, you can't be serious right now."

Casey placed a hand on his aunt's shoulder, cutting her off before she was able to say anything else. "Sam, you heard the nurse. Your dad's gonna be in the operating room for at least a few more hours. Plus, they gotta let him rest a little bit before he's allowed to see any visitors."

"Then how come only April and I are going back to the apartment?" Sam snapped, her eyes narrowed dangerously at Casey as she stood her ground, as if one of them were getting ready to reach over and attack. She shook her head slowly and took a step back, her gaze locked on both her mother and her cousin. "I'm not going anywhere until I see with my own eyes that my dad is going to walk out of this hospital alive."

"Samantha—"

"—I'm not leaving, Mom!" Sam barked, her fingers curled into tight fists as her eyes flicked back and forth from the widened eyes and shocked expressions of her cousin and her mom. Her body trembled where she stood, the drained muscles in her legs signaling their betrayal, making Sam wince all while trying to keep the hurt expression on her face so that Casey and her mom couldn't detect the exhaustion underlining her features. Yes, she was both physically and mentally dog-tired. Yes, the thought of lying down in a warm, comfortable bed and drifting off into human hibernation sounded purely inviting. But after the events that had occurred tonight – after seeing her dad in that alleyway, encircled in a puddle of his own blood, the pigment of his skin draining into a ghostly white as he wheezed and coughed, the air quickly escaping his lungs with every second that ticked, ticked, ticked on by as her thoughts raced like rapid-fire … just the thought of even being a few miles away from her dad made her breath hitch in her throat, sending Sam into a mini panic attack as her mind strung up those horrible recurring questions that resulted in terrifying possible answers. Will he make it? Will he survive this? Or will she wake up tomorrow morning, the sobs of her mother and cousin ringing in her ears before the horrible thought would finally dawn on her and she would realize that her dad had lost his struggling battle with survival and he was no longer with them … and no longer with her. And she could've prevented that if she would've just stayed by his side, praying and wishing for his full recovery, as if her thoughts and prayers were just what her dad needed to power through and make it out of this hospital all while laughing mockingly in Death's face.

No. She had to stay. No matter what….

The gentle touch of April's fingers ghosted over Sam's shoulder until she gripped it soothingly, looking down at her boyfriend's cousin with composed emerald green eyes as her lips slowly curled into a soft smile. Sam quickly wiped a lone tear that had escaped her eye, doing a horrible job at being discrete about it; although, it was very hard to be discrete about something when April was staring at her right in the face. April, however, didn't pay her actions any mind.

"Sam, I know you don't want to leave your dad after what happened tonight, but Casey and your mom are right. You've had a lot to take in over the night and the best thing you can do right now is go home and rest." She looked up at Casey and Mrs. Jones, holding out a hand in their direction as if they were statues and she was the museum tour guide. "They're still going to be here and will be keeping tabs on the nurses and doctors to make sure everything is going smoothly. You did your part by calling everyone outside to help you carry your dad to the car. You deserve some rest, sweetie. That way you'll be wide-awake when you come back and see him during visiting hours. Now come on, let's get you to bed."

Sam, at first, shifted all of her weight into her legs, standing her ground firmly until her knees began to wobble slightly, the threat of a yawn creeping up her throat as she tried holding it in to no avail. She mumbled incoherently before walking towards Casey and her mom, giving them both good-bye hugs and making sure they kept their promise in giving her a call if _anything _happened, even if it wasn't all that important.

"He's gonna be fine, Short Stack. I promise." Casey smiled, ruffling Sam's dark brown hair affectionately, making her smile halfheartedly.

"Yeah." She smiled meekly.

_I hope so…._

(-)

The car ride home was short and very quiet with the hushed sounds of the radio filtering through the absence of conversation between April and Sam. April attempted to take a stab at trying to make small talk with Sam while they breezed through traffic, hitting nothing but green lights and although Sam didn't want to come off as rude and completely ignore April, she tried really hard to put in her fair share of conversing. She hadn't realized exactly how exhausted she was until they walked out of the hospital and stepped into the car, her eyelids dropping heavily as she rested her head against the car seat, watching the blurry lights of the city merge together in a series of psychedelic colors. April must've taken notice to how tired Sam was because halfway through their car ride, she stopped talking, noticing Sam nodding in and out of consciousness until they finally pulled up to the curb.

April turned off the ignition and reached a hand toward Sam, shaking her arm gently before she was able to close her eyes and drift into a long slumber. "We're home." She smiled.

Sam mumbled incoherently and stepped out of the car, her body feeling like she had just gobbled down a ton of bricks as she walked up the stoop and into the building. The journey up the elevator and down the hall all seemed like a forgotten blur, everything happening so quickly until she realized she was standing in April and Casey's living room, the sight of fold up chairs and remaining contents of food decorating the living room and part of the kitchen as the remnants of her party slowly started to filter through her mind.

She looked down at the dried blood on her hands, closing them into tight fists as Sam shut out the dark recollections of earlier before April rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'll show you to your room."

Sam nodded and made a quick trip to the closet in the living room, pulling out the duffle bag she used to store all of her pajamas and grooming products, such as her blow dryer, hairbrush, straightener, and a few toiletries like her toothbrush and deodorant. She followed April down the hall and stopped when she opened the farthest door on the right, watching her turn on the light to illuminate the empty quarters which would be dubbed her new room.

Sam stepped inside and took in the abode with fascinated interest.

"It's not much, but Casey and I figured you'd be bringing a lot of stuff back with you from home, so we left you as much space as possible for your things."

Although Sam's mind was still a little on the groggy side to fully process the details of her new room – not that there was much to process in the first place – the empty space still filled her thoughts with a mass quantity of possibilities. She noticed a few things that April and Casey did decide to put in her room, like an empty bookshelf tucked near the corner of her window, a small flat screen hanging above an empty dresser, and a small desk with a rolling computer chair near her closet. The walls were completely bare – excluding the flat screen – making Sam grateful that she decided to back some of her posters and picture frames. However, what seemed to catch her attention at the moment was the twin-sized bed setup against the wall, the fluffy pillows and warm blankets urging her to climb in and hibernate for the rest of the night.

She turned around, facing April, and nodded her head in recognition. "Thank you, April. Not just for this, but, you know, for everything. Words can't express how thankful I am for your wonderful generosity." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, noticing the slight stutter in her voice. "I—I promise I won't be a burden."

April smiled, leaning her weight on the hand that rested on Sam's door handle. "I can't even imagine someone like you ever being a burden, Sam." She giggled. "You sure you're related to Casey Jones?"

Sam chuckled lightly until a powerful yawn cut her off, causing her to cover her mouth and rub her eyes tiredly.

April laughed. "Alright, why don't you get some rest? If you need to wash up, the bathroom's right down the hall to your left. I'll be in the bedroom right next door, so if you need anything, just give me a shout, okay?"

Sam gave her a tired thumbs, her eyelids drooping with fatigue. "Will do."

"Good night, Sam."

"Good night, April." She paused, her arm lowering slowly as she stared down at her shoes, her feet shuffling nervously before she looked back at April. "Uhm, April. Can I tell you something real quick?"

April paused, the door halfway shut before she opened it wide open again and stared curiously at Sam before she shrugged her shoulders. "Of course. What is it?"

Sam opened her mouth, noticing that no words were coming out before she quickly shut it, thinking carefully at how to approach this sort of topic. She shook her head gently, as if shaking away the powerful urge to just tell April to forget it and head to sleep before she opened her mouth again and forced the words to come out.

"When I went outside to look for my dad, after I had noticed he was taking a really long time to finish his smokes, I…" She took a deep breath, wetting her lips before continuing. "I heard someone. I-I had no idea who it was – there voice didn't sound familiar to me at all. But they somehow knew my name."

April rose and inquisitive eyebrow.

"W-when the guy – he sounded like he could maybe be in his late teens or early twenties – told me that my dad was—was hurt, I-I ran in the direction he was yelling—in that dark alleyway. At first I was hesitant of stepping inside, but I could feel something was wrong. That something didn't quite feel right. So I walked through the alleyway, but … but there was no one there. Nobody except my dad."

April crossed her arms, her lips pursed as she focused her attention solely on Sam, emerald green eyes boring into irises of evergreen. Sam gulped, feeling as though she were a little kid who had just gotten herself caught with her hand in the cookie jar until April wet her lips and finally spoke. "You didn't catch a glimpse of a figure or a shadow or anything, did you?"

Sam shook her head, inadvertently biting her lower lip. "You don't think the guy that called me over was the one who … who hurt my dad, right?"

"I don't believe so." She gripped her chin with her thumb and pointer finger, tapping it quizzically as she stared at the ground. "It wouldn't make any sense for someone to call for help after intentionally harming a person."

"True," said Sam, her mind unconsciously replaying the moment as her brain dug for clues; anything she could've missed or looked by unintentionally. She looked back up at April, her evergreen eyes shining in slight fear, her voice quivering just a tad. "But that doesn't explain how the guy knew my name."

April ceased her pondering, looking down at Sam before she placed a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention. "The world is full of life's great mysteries and unexplained phenomena. Maybe you have a guardian angel watching over you and your dad."

Sam stared up at April, the thought processing though her tired brain before her lips curled into a soft smile. "Maybe."

April let out a small, quiet chuckle. "Well, the important thing is that we got your dad to the hospital on time and that the doctors are doing everything in their power right now to make sure he makes a full recovery. Now we need to do our part and get some sleep before we go visit him tomorrow morning."

Sam grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

April offered Sam on last smile before stepping back toward the door, reaching for the door handle once more and slowly starting to close it behind her. "Good night, Sam."

"Good night, April."

(-)

"Are ya sure they're home?" Raphael whispered, climbing the final step of the fire escape with as much imperceptibility as any ninja as him and Leo finally reached Casey and April's floor.

Leo crouched low on the fire escape, making sure him and his brother remained undetectable through the living room before he spoke. "Their van is parked in their usual spot and I doubt they'd waste money taking a taxicab to the hospital," he reported, peering through the dimly lit living room – the hallway light being the apartment's only source of light at the moment.

Raph crossed his arms, his hands feeling stiff from the dried up blood that caked his palms as he grumbled lowly. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you the one who gave us this big, annoyin' lecture about how we need to respect Casey's wishes and keep our distances until he decides to introduce us to Sam?"

"Yes," Leo glared. "And we're still valuing that request until Casey feels his cousin is ready to meet us."

Raph threw his arm in the air as high as he could without having them reflect through the window and yelled in a harsh whisper. "Then what the hell are we doin' here? You do realize this ain't just Casey and April's abode anymore. _Sam _lives here too."

"I _understand _that, Raphael." Leonardo growled, his dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously before they immediately softened as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I just—I want to make sure Sam and her dad are going to be alright—mainly her dad. He lost a lot of blood back there, Raph and Sam had to witness that—witness her own father in that horrifying state. Can you imagine how traumatized she probably is? All the mixed emotions she's feeling right now?"

The red-banded turtle was silent, his honey-hazel eyes boring into Leonardo's for what seemed like hours. He tore his gaze away, staring up at the moon before pinching the area between his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Let's hurry up and get this over with before I pass out. Don't think Sam wants to start off her mornin' findin' a snorin' turtle on her cousin's fire escape."

Leonardo chuckled lightly as he slowly poked his head over the windowsill, making sure he couldn't be seen. His eyes were locked on the hallway entrance, waiting patiently for someone to exit through and into the living room. While he couldn't see much in the living room and kitchen since none of the lights were turned on, he did, however, notice a shadow casting itself over the hallway wall, highly aware of the curves and shorter stature, figuring it to be either Sam or April.

Most likely April, he figured. Although he didn't quite get a good look at Sam when he was calling her over to the alleyway, he knew she wasn't as tall as the shadow displayed itself, leaving April as the only logical answer. The blue-banded turtle, however, kept his body lowered, waiting for the figure to reveal herself until he finally caught a glimpse of auburn hair and raised himself up, Raphael following suit.

He tapped lightly on the glass window, making sure to be loud, but not loud enough to where Sam might've heard him. He managed to catch April's attention as she turned on the kitchen light and caught sight of both him and Raph standing outside on the fire escape.

She walked towards the window and opened it, her eyes wide with horror when she noticed the dried blood encrusted on their hands and smeared over their plastrons.

"W-what the hell happened? Are you guys hurt?"

Leo held up his hands in a reassuring manner, his voice light and utterly composed. "Calm down, April, we're fine."

"_Fine_? You two look like you just stepped out of a slasher film. Where are the others? A-are they hurt?"

Raphael gruffed. "Mike and Don are probably all tucked into bed already. Ol' Fearless here didn't wanna hang up his katanas early, so me and him decided to make another round across the city before we called it a night. Few minutes later, we ran into some Purple Dragons."

"They were ganging up on some older gentleman before we dropped in and put a stop to them," Leo spoke, his eyes lowering down to the floor almost dejectedly. "But when we thought … when _I_ thought the coast was clear and tried to make sure the man was all right, a Dragon came up behind me and tried slicing me open with a machete. However, the man we had just saved caught sight of the Dragon before I even realized he was behind me and pushed me out of the way, taking the hit. The Dragon nearly cut him wide open…."

April's eyes widened in sudden realization, turning her head in the direction of Sam's room before looking back at Leo and Raph, her voice quivering slightly. "S-so that man—"

"—was Sam's dad." Leo finished, his voice carrying out a hint of solemn sobriety.

April stood almost taken aback, her emerald green eyes flickering back and forth rapidly before they finally settled on staring down at the floorboard, her tone lowering to almost inaudible whisper. "So it _was _you guys she was talking about…."

Leo's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, his heart thudding hard inside his chest. "She told you?"

April turned towards the hallway, her body facing sideways from Leo and Raph as she stood in complete silence. Leo could hear the faint sounds of the kitchen clock ticking away a number of seconds before April finally glanced over her shoulder, looking at the two turtles with a hint of not worry, but also not a hint of relief either, making Leonardo gulp nervously.

"She said she heard someone calling her name—urging her into the alley where her dad was attacked," April spoke, as if she were choosing her words carefully before allowing them to pass through her lips. Leonardo clung to every word, trying to read the voided expression on April's face, wondering whether or not he should be worried that Sam could've caught a slight glimpse of him or his brother, knowing of their existence before she was even allowed to. He gulped fretfully, listening intently as April continued.

"She said it sounded like a younger man's voice—someone who somehow knew her name. But when she stepped inside the alleyway, nobody was there. Nobody but her dad lying left for dead on the floor."

The blue-banded turtle winced, his shoulders tensing as he opened his desert-dry mouth, feeling as though a vacuum nozzle had been shoved down his throat and sucked away all the words in his vocabulary, rendering him unable to speak. He wet his lips and cleared his throat, trying desperately to control the growing urge to stutter as he spoke. "She doesn't think we … I mean, that we would—"

Leo's words were suddenly lost when he noticed April's lips slowly beginning to form into a cultivated smile. "She thinks she has a little guardian angel watching over her and her dad. The nurse at the hospital told us had we not have gotten Mister Jones to the emergency room as quickly as we did, he would've bled out. The doctors believe he's going to be making a full recovery, which is a big relief on Sam's shoulders."

"Good," said Raphael, his arms still crossed over his plastron.

Leonardo let out a long sigh of relief, not even realizing he was holding in his breath to begin with. He glanced down the hallway, his eyes shining with a hint of worrisome judgment before he looked down at April. "So she's—she's going to be okay?"

April nodded. "We're going to visit her dad at the hospital after his surgery, so I'm sure once she sees him on his way to recovery, she'll feel a lot better."

"I'm glad to hear that." Leo smiled, looking past April and down the hallway once more, picturing Sam drifting off into a much-needed slumber, hoping for her sake that the horrific events of tonight were being permanently erased from her memory and blocked from her dreams.

Leo tightened his grip on the windowsill. The last thing he wanted was for Sam to have nightmares of the sight of her dad, drowning in a puddle of his own blood replaying over and over in her subconscious, enable to shut them off as she fell deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of potent anxiety. No, he wished her nothing but peaceful slumber, feeling a slight twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach when it dawned on him that that was all he could; just wish for her to have peaceful dreams rather than take action and give her the peaceful dreams she so rightfully deserved.

The feel of Raph's rough hand lying on top of his shoulder snapped the leader out of his trance.

"We're gonna head out now, April," Raphael spoke, already taking a couple of steps back from the window.

"Make it home safely you two," said April, looking up at Leonardo before giving him a grateful smile as she placed her hand over his own. "And Leo, please, for the sake of your well-being, turn over the blame card, okay? Because of you, Sam will be able to see her dad tomorrow morning. You saved him, Leo, don't let that tidbit go unforgotten."

Leo balled his hands into small fists as he narrowed his eyes. "But if I hadn't let my guard down, Sam's dad—"

"I don't want to hear it." April snapped, making Leo flinch slightly. "Stop looking at the glass half empty, Leo. Because of you, Sam wouldn't have had any idea where her dad could've been and he would've bled out in the cold air, left to die. You're her guardian angel, Leo. You helped her save her dad."

Leo looked into April's eyes before letting his own gaze trail down to the floor, his shoulders sinking slightly. It seemed as though this was the game he always found himself being a returning player to: the blame game. Even when he knew certain circumstances weren't because of his actions, Leo always found himself taking the blame and allowing the burden to add another weight to the massive load he carried around on his shoulders. Maybe it was the price he paid for being the leader and the oldest? A curse that he would have to live with for the rest of his life, until the day he died. But in these circumstances, he had to shun that way of thinking – at least just for this moment.

_A guardian angel_, Leo thought, glancing back over at the hallway, wondering if Sam really was having the peaceful dreams he had wished for her and thought about what those peaceful dreams were exactly about. He shut his eyes for a quick second, wishing he could partake in the moment of tranquility with Sam, even just for a brief moment; a brief moment where he didn't always feel the weight of everyone's problems on his shoulders.

A moment of freedom.

A moment of serenity.

A moment as her guardian angel….

* * *

D'aww. :3 I promise Sam and Leo will one day come face to face in later chapters! Dx Right now, the poor guy just has to settle for thinking about her. But fear not, readers! They'll be able to interact with each other in about a couple of more chapters, so please be patient. I do think though that Leo's little thoughts about being there for Sam and being her little 'guardian turtle' is simply adorable. x3 I have plans for him and Casey to have a semi-heart-to-heart talk about looking out for Sam in the next chapter, but I don't want to give too much away. ;)

Whelp! You all know what to do! The more reviews this story gets, the more pizzas I get for the turtles. So review, review, review! They're cute little ninja tummies are rumbling. :3

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	5. What Are You Going To Choose

**Author's Note****: **Happy July 7th, everyone! :D Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I know I did. :) I still had to work that day seeing as I asked for Easter off this year, but I managed to be off by 5 and was able to speed on home and have an awesome dinner with the fambam while we watched the fireworks from the roof of our house. :3 Ahh, it's moments like these I'm really going to miss when I wind up moving in with my fiancé. But! I don't wanna depress you with those details. XD

Holy cow, where at Chapter 4! Please bear with me, readers, this chapter is EXTREMELY long. I just couldn't cut out the last part with Casey and Leo's talk and save it for Chapter 5, since that would completely mess up the balance of this story. Besides, this is what you guys love, right? Really long chapters? :D It'll get you through the next week and a half until I post up Chapter 5, which I'm really eager to write. XD

Alright! Now before we get on with the chapter, let me thank all of the people who reviewed last weeks chapter. Thank you very, very much **SleepingSeeker**, **adventuresstime**, **Laurenadel story's**, **lunexa**, **Huntress of Light**, **kaaayyytteee**, and **BubblyShell 22** (for reviewing for Chapter 3). You guys totally and absolutely ROCK and thanks to your awesome reviews, the turtles have yummy pizzas to munch on. :3

In conclusion, I also wanna give a big, big, BIG thanks to **Laurenadel story's **who's been giving me some pretty rad ideas for future chapters, to which I'm hoping I'm doing the same with her story. Thank you so much, chica! ;)

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own, nor will I ever own the right to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Even though I'd absolutely LOVE to have four kickass ninja turtles to pal around with. I mean, how AWESOME would that be? :D But sadly, I can only dream. TwT Ah well.

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 4**

**What Are You Going To Choose?**

* * *

**Saturday Afternoon**

"One tall Cinnamon Dolce Latte with non-fat milk and an extra shot of espresso, please."

The cashier nodded, putting in April's order with a lackadaisical attitude, giving off the impression that he had been working a long shift and was ready to punch out and call it a day. He glanced up from the register, giving April a tired smile before looking down at Sam, waiting patiently for her order.

Sam looked up at the menu and hummed in thought. "Uhm, I think I'll just get a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich."

April raised an amused eyebrow. "You sure? You woke up pretty early this morning. A shot of caffeine should be the little kick you need to take on the rest of the day."

Sam brought a hand behind her neck and rubbed it shyly. "I've never really tried coffee before. I mean, I've had sips of the horrible mud my dad drinks, but that's about it. Whenever I go to a coffee shop, I usually order iced tea. I'm not too big on the teas they have here, though." She looked up at the guy behind the register and smiled meekly. "No offense."

The guy shrugged, his expression unfazed while April smiled down at Sam, her eyes shining with determination. "Well you're in luck, sweetie. I'm practically a regular here, so I'm sure I can find something that'll send your taste buds on a one-way ticket to Flavorville." She hummed quietly to herself, tapping her chin in thought while her eyes scanned over the menu, flickering back and forth until her lips tugged into a devilish grin, making Sam gulp almost apprehensively.

"Add on a tall Chocolate Dalmatian with whole milk. Extra java chips, extra whipped cream, and throw in a little splash of vanilla syrup, please."

The guy behind the register nodded, totaling up their order while April dug inside her purse, handing him her debit card. She looked down a Sam and winked. "You're gonna fall in love with this drink, trust me."

Sam shrugged, giving her cousin's girlfriend a hopeful smile as they walked towards an empty table. "As long as it's better than the black stuff my dad likes to chug down in the morning, then me and my taste buds will take your word for it."

April laughed before taking a seat, the faint sound of vibrations coming from her back pocket, cutting her laugh short. She pulled out her cell phone and read through the text she had just received, her green eyes scanning back and forth in concentration. Sam watched her diligently, her eyes wide with blatant curiosity.

A small smile tugged at April's lips. "Casey says your dad's able to receive visitors now. We'll head on over to the hospital as soon as we get our drinks."

Sam released a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in, her shoulders relaxing as she leaned back against her chair in relief. "Good," she said. After waiting nearly an hour for Casey to text them back, she couldn't help but feel a wash of positive energy flow through her body, her stomach performing exciting back flips at the thought of finally getting to see her dad.

She shunned the dark memories of last night away from her subconscious as she straightened herself up and glanced out the window her and April were seated next to. She watched impassively as busy New Yorkers rushed back and forth across the busy sidewalks, all heading in different directions while interestingly paying no attention to where they were going. Sam noticed that mostly everyone that passed by either had their attention focused on their cell phones or had their heads directed toward the ground, not paying attention to what was happening above. She raised a quizzical eyebrow, finding it interesting that some people that would pass by would get increasingly angry at the person they bumped into, mouthing off swear words when it was obviously their own fault for not watching where they were going.

She metaphorically shrugged her shoulders. Guess that's just how New Yorkers rolled in the Big Apple, a distinct fact that Sam would certainly have to get used to now that this was going to be her home for the next couple of years. It sure was different from Northampton, a city that although attracted many tourists because of their distinguishing art festivals, no matter how much of a rush someone was in, if they bumped into someone, they apologized to the highest degree.

"I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore," she spoke, her attention focused on an outraged businessman who had bumped into an eccentrically dressed teenager with giant speaker headphones places securely around his neck.

April glanced outside the window and smiled, looking back over at Sam with genuine eyes. "Don't let people like that intimidate you, Sam. Although it may not seem like it right now, but not all New Yorkers are incompetent assholes. Some of us are actually really nice."

"Yeah, _some_ being the keyword there." Sam grinned. "I feel like the only friendly faces I've actually seen in this city are yours and Casey's. Everyone else looks like they'd punch you out if you so much as look at them the wrong way."

April shrugged her shoulders. "Well, maybe you'll see some friendly faces when you start your first day of school. I'm sure you're bound to make a couple of new friends real soon." She smiled, her thoughts lingering to the turtles as her mind filled with different scenarios on how Sam would interact with each of them individually and as a group. Just the mere thought made April feel giddy, but she shook it off quickly, telling herself it was still too early for the introductions to take place. After all, Sam still hadn't fully adjusted yet to the city. The last thing her and Casey wanted was for Sam to get overwhelmed with so much change in her life.

Sam finally tore her eyes away from the passing bystanders and reached over toward the napkin dispenser, pulling out a napkin and ruffling it up to keep her hands busy. "Speaking of which, I gotta head down to the school tomorrow morning to pick up my schedule."

April perked at the idea. "Would you like me or Casey to take you? Casey's got a shipment pickup tomorrow morning at nine, so he could probably drop you off at the school before he heads to work. Or I could take you on my way to the shop. We could swing by here again if you'd like and grab a coffee before I drop you off."

Sam giggled. "You really are a regular here, aren't you?"

April laughed humorously, giving Sam a playful wink. "Hey, I'm not ashamed to say I'm a coffee-holic. Besides, Starbucks does make some pretty damn good coffee. Why do you think I've grown into such a regular?"

Sam smirked, raising a challenging eyebrow at April. "Well, you've got a coffee virgin at your side, so I'll be the judge of how well they make their coffee." She laughed, forcing herself to choke back a powerful yawn as she shut her eyes tight, the yawn stubbornly escaping her throat.

April rested her cheek against her palm, her shoulders shaking slightly as she giggled. "I take it you didn't get much sleep last night, huh?"

Sam rubbed her eyes lazily, reminding April of a young child fighting off the evils of naptime sleepiness. "Depends. Does four hours of sleep count as not that much?"

April's surprised expression answered that question for her, making Sam's shoulders shake carefully with amusement. While it was true that she was utterly exhausted the moment she let her body collapse onto the cushiony confines of her new bed when her and April had gotten home last night, the urge to hibernate only lasted so long before Sam found herself wide-awake at the ungodly hour of five in the morning.

Although she tried desperately to lull herself back to sleep for at least a few more hours, her body indicated it was done sleeping for the day and Sam had no choice but to roll herself out of bed and take on the day. April, however, didn't awake until close to eight, giving Sam time to shower, dress, and munch on a banana and some toast – sadly, they were out of cereal and eggs – while she watched the very limited amount of good Saturday morning cartoons television had to offer nowadays. It didn't take April forever to get ready, much to Sam's relief. However, when they had finally arrived at the hospital, Sam instantly knew something was wrong the moment they stepped inside the waiting room, catching sight of her cousin and her mom's drained and disappointed expressions.

At first, Sam had thought the surgery didn't go as well as the doctors had hoped and Casey and her mom had just gotten news that her dad only had a few minutes left to live – but it was nothing along those lines of significance. While her dad's surgery had gone quite well, the doctors were still giving him time to recuperate and were holding off his visiting hours until further notice, making Casey and her mom continue on with their little waiting game.

Sam had no intentions to mask her frustration as her and April took a seat next to Casey and her mom, joining them in on the waiting game until a nurse showed up to give them the green light. While April made small talk with Casey and her mom, Sam sat quietly by herself, letting her thoughts carry her away while she forced herself not to look at the clock every two minutes. However, her thoughts were cut short when April had mentioned making a quick breakfast run to Starbucks, causing Sam's stomach to roar in a famished outburst. Obviously the banana and two slices of toast weren't enough to satisfy her stomach, so she offered to go with April, making sure to tell Casey to shoot them a text the second her dad was able to see visitors, in which Casey smiled and offered Sam his pinky to seal the deal in a prominent pinky swear.

Sam smiled at the aforementioned memory until April placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Our order's ready," April chirruped, scooting out of her seat while Sam followed behind, watching the barista behind the counter hand April two small white cups and a brown baggy that held Sam's breakfast sandwich. April took the sandwich first and handed it to Sam before taking the two drinks, thanking the barista before handing the steaming cup of flavored coffee to her as she took a sip of her own drink.

Sam accepted the drink and felt her hands instantly warm up at the comforting heat radiating through the cup, her nose filling with the sweet aroma of caffeine and white chocolate.

"Go ahead. Let me know if you like it." April urged, her smile spreading throughout her face in jubilant excitement.

Sam looked up at April and then down at her drink, lifting the little opening flap on the lid almost cautiously. She was surprised that no steam had escaped through until she realized the top part of her drink was completely blanketed with chocolate java chips and whipped cream, making Sam's stomach grumble hungrily. Carefully, she brought the cup to her lips, tilting it ever so slowly so as not to burn her lips off from the excruciatingly hot beverage. Her taste buds were instantly coated with whipped cream until she felt the warm liquid of her flavored drink splash inside her mouth, making her eyes wide in utter surprise.

April's emerald eyes seemed to enlarge as she watched intently while Sam winced and pulled the cup away from her lips, making a small squeal while keeping her mouth closed, indicating that it was currently full of the flavored coffee. She watched as the warm liquid travelled down Sam's throat, waiting impatiently for Sam to speak, telling her whether she loved it or completely hated it.

The longer the silence dragged on, the more edgy April got until she finally opened her mouth to speak. "Well?" she asked, watching as Sam's lips curved into a delighted smile, her evergreen eyes twinkling mirthfully. "How does it taste?"

She brought the drink back to her lips, making April's eyes widen impressively as Sam took a long chug of her flavored coffee, unfazed by the burning liquid that April figured would've scorched her mouth. She looked up with a wide smile – little bits of java chips decorating her teeth.

"Like the sweet, chocolaty nectar of the Gods!"

(-)

"So who'd you guys end up murdering last night?"

Leonardo felt as though Father Time had control over his movements – or, lack of, seeing as he seemed to be frozen in the position he was in right now, his spoon stopping halfway toward his mouth with his lips parted slightly at Mikey's sudden question.

Raphael rolled his eyes before Leo could manage to say anything – not that any words were getting ready to slip from his lips any time soon. With great impenitence, he reached across the table and thumped Michelangelo against the head, smirking at the hurtful glare his youngest brother was throwing his way before he proceeded on with eating his Lucky Charms. "We didn't kill nobody, bonehead. Although I am considerin' doin' some harmful damage to ya if ya don't let me eat my cereal in peace."

Donatello raised a curious eye ridge at his brothers, the sound of the rhythmic tapping on his laptop ceasing for a brief moment. "So are we just supposed to turn a blind eye at the blood-stained towels in the bathroom and go about our day?"

Leo grit his teeth in annoyance, letting out a low growl as his dark brown eyes travelled toward Raph. "You couldn't have thrown those away before we went to bed?"

Raph scoffed, dropping his spoon into his cereal bowl to jab a finger in his older brother's direction. "Fuck you, Leo. I ain't yer goddamn maid. Yer a big boy so clean up after yerself."

"Uhm, guys." Mikey spoke up, raising a finger in a poor attempt to get his brothers' attention.

The words of his youngest brother didn't reach Leo's awareness as he also dropped his spoon into his half-empty bowl of cereal and leaned slightly over the table, the legs of his chair screeching as it was pushed back a few inches. "Hey, I was the first one to go to bed. You were still in the bathroom cleaning up after yourself so the least you could've done was gotten both towels and thrown them away. It's called common courtesy, Raphael."

"_Guys_."

The legs on Raph's chair screeched eerily from being pushed back, the force nearly knocking it over as the red-banded turtle glowered at Leo and scoffed. "Common courtesy my ass. You were just too fuckin' lazy to throw away yer own goddamn towel so don't gimme this shit about common courtesy."

"I wouldn't have to always bring it up if _you _would learn to put others before yourself once in a while."

"How 'bout I put _you _in a headlock and smash yer smug little face against the—"

"—For the love of God, will you both just shut the hell up!"

The harsh sound of Donatello's laptop being slammed shut was enough to make all three turtles wince apprehensively as silence immediately befell upon the kitchen; three pairs of eyes staring staggeringly at the braniac of the group. For a moment, no one dared to open their mouth to speak up, feeling as though even breathing would be the one trigger to set the purple-banded turtle into a raging fit, leaving every turtle for himself. However, the silence didn't last much longer as Donnie let out a deep sigh and pointed at Raph.

"Raph, you're an inconsiderate asshole." He pointed at Leo next. "Leo, you're a lazy tyrant. There. Argument over. Now before you two carry on with your day and silently plan on how to kill each other, I think you owe Mikey and I an explanation as to why you two came home at nearly two in the morning all covered in blood."

Michelangelo's baby blue eyes widened in shock. "You guys didn't come home until two in the morning?"

"It wasn't two in the morning," said Leo. "It was more like close to one thirty."

Raphael crossed his arms over his plastron and gave his younger brother a suspicious glance. "What the hell, Don. You got cameras set around the lair to spy on us durin' yer free time?"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "I was in the lab after Mikey went to bed when 'Zombie Vampires from Space' ended. I was just getting ready to call it a night, but then I heard the shower going off."

Mikey stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Gross. You two showered together?"

That earned him a rough slap against the head, making the orange-banded turtle moan in utter pain. But although Mikey had anticipated a rough beating after sputtering out a comment like that, he wasn't expecting _two _hands to connect roughly against the back of his head as he turned around and was greeted by twin glares coming from both Leo and Raph.

Mikey winced as he rubbed his now throbbing head. "Et tu, Leo?"

"_Anyway_," Donnie emphasized. "After I heard the shower go off, I went over to the bathroom to investigate and saw the two of you wiping blood off your bodies. At first, I thought you guys were seriously injured, but there were no visible gashes or cuts anywhere on either of you two. Do you know how completely weird and suspicious that looks when you see your two older brothers creeping back home at two in the morning covered in _someone else's blood_? Especially after watching a cheesy horror movie about zombie vampires!"

Leo held up his hands in a reassuring manner, noticing that his brother's voice was starting to rise in volume. "Relax, Donnie, I can explain."

"So start explaining, dude," said Mikey, pulling out a chair and spinning it around so that he was straddling the back, his arms hanging loosely on the top.

The blue-banded turtle let out a low sigh, his attention focused solely on the floor as he racked his brain trying to gather up the necessary words. "R-Raph and I had a run-in with some Purple Dragons after the four of us had split up. We noticed they were ganging up on someone, so we stepped in and took care of everything. W-We managed to scare off two of the Dragons … but…"

"But what?" Mikey asked, his tone low and reassuring as he stared down at his oldest brother with his soft, baby blue eyes. However, the calming façade wasn't enough to fool Leonardo, who was able to detect the blatant curiosity in Michelangelo's voice, making his mouth feel dry as the words were suddenly lost from his vocabulary.

Raphael looked down at his older brother with his eye ridges raised questioningly. It didn't take him long to realize Leo was struggling to find his words, so with a low sigh, he looked up at Donnie and Mikey, his features softened so faintly, even Master Splinter would have to squint just to catch it. "After the fight was over, a Dragon managed to sneak up behind Leo and nearly cut his shell open with a machete."

"He would've walked away unharmed…." Leo spoke slowly, feeling as though gravity had taken full control over his body, making him feel heavy and cumbersome. "That Dragon was aiming for me, but Mister Jones—"

"—Woah, woah, back up." Donnie interrupted, his light brown eyes scanning the blue-banded turtle's face. "Mister Jones?"

"You mean Sam's dad?"

Leo nodded accountably, a flash of painful culpability flickering in his dark brown irises as he curled his fingers into tight fists, his teeth gritting together in a harsh manner. "I-I don't know why I made such a rookie mistake. I should've sensed the Dragon coming up behind me a mile away, but because I didn't, Mister Jones wound up taking the hit—a hit that should've been aimed for me…."

"I see." Donatello nodded. "So Mister Jones sacrificed himself to protect you after you and Raph saved him from a Purple Dragon attack."

"The man's got guts," Mikey spoke, letting out an impressed whistle as he looked up at his two oldest brothers. "So what'd you guys end up doing?"

"We used Mister Jones's shirt to apply pressure on the gash to stop the bleeding." Leo explained, now clenching on to the sides of his chair. "But he was losing so much blood so quickly that I-I started to panic. We thought about contacting Casey on our Shell Cells—"

Raphael scoffed almost humorously as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, until Fearless Leader here thought of a different ultimatum."

Donatello's eyes widened slightly as he looked over at Leo, his light brown eyes flickering with fear. "Leo…. What did you do?"

Leonardo gulped, placing his attention back to the ground as he wet his lips and tried desperately to control his stuttering in his voice. "I-I heard someone calling for Mister Jones outside the alleyway. When I looked over to investigate, I noticed it was Sam looking for her father. I … I figured contacting Casey would take up too much time a-and Mister Jones was already losing too much blood so I—I…"

"Leo…" Donnie spoke, his tone warning. "Y-You didn't—"

A discourteous snort coming from Raph interrupted Donnie's question. "C'mon, Don, Leo may be thick-headed, but he ain't stupid. He called Sam over to the alleyway, but we managed to bolt before she was even able to spot us. Now she thinks Leo's her little 'guardian angel' or somethin'."

Leonardo's cheeks stained pink at the affectionate term, feeling his stomach flop around like a fish out of water before he placed a hand to comfort the sensation. Donatello let out a long sigh of relief, his head drooping past his shoulders before he gave it a disapproving shake. "Leo, do you have any idea how _risky_ that was? What if she saw you?"

"Yeah," Mikey piped up, pointing an accusing finger at his oldest brother. "And weren't you the one who was on our tails about keeping our distance from Sam until Casey introduced her to us? Way to be a hypocrite, Leo."

"I'm not being a hypocrite," Leo growled, shooting Mikey a soft glare. "We still have to abide by Casey's decision and keep our distances from Sam until further notice. What I did was to make sure Mister Jones got the help he needed before he bled out and like Raph said, we managed to sneak away before Sam even entered the alleyway."

"Are you sure?" Don asked, a glimmer of sheer concern eminent in his chocolate brown eyes.

Leonardo nodded his head, making the purple-banded turtle feel as though a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he let out one more sigh of relief before getting up from his chair. "Alright. Just be careful next time, okay guys?"

Raphael shrugged his shoulders callously. "Tch, you ain't gotta tell me. I was actually the responsible one last night."

Mikey grinned, picking himself up from his chair as he walked toward the living room. "There's something you don't hear every day."

Leo and Donnie were the last ones remaining in the kitchen as Leo scooted himself out of his seat and gathered his bowl of now soggy cereal, walking toward the sink to rinse it out. Donatello stared at his oldest brother, walking cautiously toward him before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, signaling his attention. Leo, however, continued to clean his dish, not paying Donnie any mind.

"Leo, I understand what you did was for the well-being of Sam's dad—"

"—But…?" Leo spoke, his words dripping with harsh intent.

"_But_," Donnie spoke, letting his hand fall to his side. "You need to think before you act. Running in guns blazing without caring about the consequences is Raph's thing, not yours, Leo. Did the thought even cross your mind that someone else could've seen you guys?"

"I _panicked_, Donnie." Leo barked, throwing his bowl back into the sink after he had rinsed it out. "Sam's dad was bleeding through his shirt and no matter how many times Raph and I applied pressure to it, he was just losing more and more blood. Do you really think the thought of someone seeing us was crossing through my mind at the moment while the possibility of someone _dying _was hanging precariously over my shoulders?"

"I'm not saying what you did was a bad, thing." Donnie growled, watching as Leo tried desperately to cull his growing frustration. He sighed, pinching the bridge between his eyes before he allowed himself to speak. "I just—you need to be careful next time, okay? What you did – yes, I understand it was for the good of Sam's father, but the consequences of your actions could've resulted into something irreversible."

Leo let his shoulders droop misguidedly, feeling as though someone had tied barbells to his wrists – the weight of their mass dragging them down in a defeated slump as Donnie's words finally began to sink in.

The purple-banded turtle straightened himself up, looking at his brother with serious eyes. "You're the leader, Leo."

"I'm aware of that, Donatello."

Donnie stared harshly at his older brother before turning his back on him, exiting the kitchen in exasperation. "Just making sure you understand that."

No other words were exchanged as Donnie stormed out of the kitchen, passing through the living room where Mikey was so engrossed in his cartoons that he hadn't even noticed his brother slamming the door to his lab behind him, making Leo wince at the harsh sound that echoed through his eardrums. His shoulders slumped, feeling a wash of guilt overflow his body as he stared down at the floor in defeat. He knew Donnie had every right to be mad. If it had been him out with Raph the other night, his brother would've done the more logical thing and called up Casey on his Shell Cell rather than risk being seen by Sam or any other passing bystander that happened to be in the neighborhood. It was a stupid idea and Leo had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. He was the leader, so every decision he made not only affected him, but befell on the shoulders of his brothers as well. How could he let himself get so … careless?

The sound of the faucet gushing out water filtered through Leonardo's eardrums as it drained down the sink, hypnotizing him into a catatonic stupor. With a compressed sigh, he reached over and turned the faucet off, hovering over the sink as he watched the water that filled his clean bowl spill out and trickle down the drain, thinking about Donatello's words before he stormed off.

"_You're the leader, Leo."_

He curled his fingers into tight fists, shutting his eyes as if shutting out those words. _You're the leader, Leo_, he thought to himself. "So start acting like it…."

(-)

"They're releasing you _this afternoon_?"

Mr. Jones grunted harshly as he nodded, adjusting himself on his creaky hospital bed so that he could sit up against his propped pillow. "Doc says I'm good to go after your mom fills out all the paperwork. They loaded me up on painkillers before they brought me to my room earlier this morning and prescribed me a few month's worth of pills to take back home with me. I can't operate any heavy machinery for a while and I'm stuck on bed rest for about about six weeks. But other than that, I'm feeling okay."

Sam gave her dad an apprehensive look, her evergreen eyes flickering with a hint of concern. Mr. Jones took notice of this and tilted his daughter's chin affectionately, flashing her a warm smile. "Hey, buck up, kiddo. I'll be fine, I promise. Your old man's made it through worse situations than this. Remember when I brought you with me on that fishing trip with a couple of my co-workers?"

Sam's shoulders shook slightly as she laughed at the horrid memory. "Yeah, and one of them accidentally stabbed your arm with a harpoon."

Mr. Jones shook his head, a large grin spreading across his face. "Couldn't use that arm for an entire month. But didn't the doctor say it'd take _two_ months before I was able to use my arm again?"

Sam nodded her head, giving her dad a small warning glance before she spoke slow and vigilantly. "Just don't strain yourself when you go back home, okay, Dad? I don't want Mom calling me while I'm at school or something telling me you're in the hospital again because you tore your stitches."

Mr. Jones smiled up at his daughter, giving her a small nod before his lips immediately lowered into a saddened frown, his gaze focusing down at his empty hands lying over his lap. "Uhm, about that, Sam…. Your mom and I were talking earlier before you and April arrived a-and after the circumstances of last night, we were thinking…"

Sam suddenly felt as though she was stuck in a parallel time warp, the sound of the clock overhead ticking at a precariously slow rhythm, her heart racing faster than Speed Racer could drive the Mach 5. She looked down at her dad, her lips quivering nervously as she watched him fumble with the sheets fretfully before he wet his cracked lips and continued to speak.

"Sam, this city is just far too dangerous for you to live in," Mr. Jones spoke, boldly staring into his daughter's fearful evergreen eyes. "Your mom and I would feel much more at ease if you came home with us and continue finishing school back in Northampton. I'm sure Casey and April will understand and you can always apply to John Jay's online courses and get your degree that way."

"Wait, wait, wait, back up a second." She shook her hands frantically, her eyes shut as she shook her head before looking down at her dad and letting out a small, almost irritated chuckle. "Dad, you can't be serious right now, can you? I-I mean, after all the planning we put behind this – enrolling me at Roosevelt High and getting all my paperwork settled. I had _plans _to graduate here and start my future as an NYPD cop, Dad! Don't _I _get a say in this at all?"

"Samantha, please—"

"—No, Dad, you don't understand." Sam barked, bringing herself down to her knees so that she was as close to eye-level as she was going to get with her dad sitting up in bed. "After what happened to you last night – after those, what did April call them? Purple Dragons? After they cut you open and left you in the middle of that alleyway to _die_, I can't just grab all my stuff and go back home."

Mr. Jones pursed his lips into a thin line, tearing his gaze away from his daughter as he continued to fumble with the bed sheets, giving him something to do with his hands and keep him preoccupied. Sam noticed this and grit her teeth in frustration, tilting her head slightly so that her dad could see her. "Dad, I understand you and Mom are concerned about my safety, but something like this,"—she motioned at the hospital room—"isn't going to scare me away. I _want _to be a cop, Dad. No matter how many gruesome stories I hear on the News or read in the newspapers, it's never going to be enough to convince me otherwise."

"And what about us, Sam?" Mr. Jones shouted, making his daughter flinch at his sudden outburst. "Your mother and I – what about us, huh? Did you ever stop and think for one second how you moving to such a dangerous city to take on one of the most hazardous career fields in New York would reflect on how we felt?"

Sam stared at her father, his words slapping her straight across the face as in a burning sting, making her feel as though she had just swallowed a ton of rocks.

Mr. Jones clenched one of his hands into a tight fist, raising it a couple of inches from the bed until he let it come back down to his side, letting out a harsh growl of pure provocation.

"I never was doing this for you or Mom," Sam spoke, making Mr. Jones look over toward his daughter, her evergreen eyes shining with fresh tears. "I've wanted to become a cop because they help people, Dad. Not because I have some grudge against you or Mom and wanna worry you two for the rest of your lives."

"Well of course we're going to worry about you, sweetheart," said Mr. Jones, the hint of livid frustrations leaving the tone in his voice. "After I had gotten attacked, all I could think about was how this was going to affect my little girl. What if she found herself out in the field, surrounded by a gang of Purple Dragon thugs, all carrying machetes and guns and chains, backing her into a dark corner…."

Sam placed a heartening hand on her dad's shoulder, flashing him a warm smile that seemed to put his rapid heartbeat at ease. "I don't blame you or Mom for being so cautious – especially after last night's circumstances. But if this whole Purple Dragon attack has done anything, it's certainly made me even more determined than ever to become part of the NYPD so that I can put an end to every Purple Dragon scumbag out there before something like this happens to another unsuspecting victim."

"Sam, I—"

Sam brought up a finger to her dad's lips, silencing him before he was able to open up his mouth and speak again as she stared down at him with serious fortitude flashing eminently in her eyes. "I'm not going back home, Dad. After seeing you last night, lying in a puddle of your own blood, seeing your face drained to a ghostly white … the emotions I was feeling as I tried carrying you to the car was an experience I wouldn't wish on my enemies. I never want to go through something like that ever again, Dad, and I never want someone else to go through something like that either. You and Mom can throw the biggest bitch fit this entire country has ever seen … but I am not leaving New York."

Mr. Jones stared up notably at his daughter, his dark eyes wide with shock, not really knowing what to say or how to say or whether or not he should say anything at all at the moment. As the seconds continued to tick on by and Mr. Jones still couldn't bring himself to say anything to what his daughter had told him, Sam took that as a good sign and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace, making Mr. Jones stiffen for a bit before he relaxed and returned his daughter's hug with pure affection, patting her soothingly on the back.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Sam."

The sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard by both parties as Sam and Mr. Jones turned their heads to be greeted by Casey standing almost awkwardly before them, his hands shoved casually inside his jean pockets. "Uhm, Aunt Maddie's almost got all the paperwork done, Uncle Chris. She said the doctor's should be here in a few minutes to help you in a wheelchair."

Mr. Jones grunted and nodded, thanking his nephew before patting Sam on the arm, grabbing her attention. "Why don't you go meet up with your mom and I'll wait here for the doctors to come."

Sam nodded, smiling brightly at her dad before leaning over and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, whispering her thanks before she exited the room, giving her cousin a small smile before she closed the door behind her.

Casey stared up at his uncle for about two seconds before his gaze focused down at his shoes as he kicked an invisible pebble across the room, his hands still shoved inside his pockets. "So, uhm, you feelin' okay?"

"Pretty sure this ol' goat ain't dying today." Mr. Jones grinned, making Casey chuckle quietly to himself. "Listen, Case, why don't you meet up with Sam and your aunt Maddie. If you don't mind, I'd kind of like to be alone for a few minutes."

"Oh, sure, no problem," said Casey, already making his way toward the door, his hand hovering just mere inches away from the door handle. "Hey, Uncle Chris."

"Hm?"

"I'm—I'm glad you're okay…."

Mr. Jones stared up at his nephew, the thin lines that adorned the area around his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled, nodding his head in thanks. "Me too, Casey. Me too."

Casey flashed his uncle one last smile before he turned the knob to the door and let himself out, the soles of his rubber sneakers squeaking against the clean hospital floor as he walked down the hallway. Mr. Jones leaned forward just a tad and listened intently, waiting until Casey was finally at a respectable distance before he reached over to his coat that was tossed precariously on one of the chairs seated next to his bed. Frantically, he dug inside one of the pockets, feeling that familiar rectangular box as he pulled out his still brand new packet of Marlboro's, flipping the top open and pulling out a fresh cigarette. Although the Purple Dragons managed to make off with his special lighter – much to Mr. Jones's disappointment – he found it helpful to always carry around a back up just in case as he fumbled inside the same pocket and pulled the plain red lighter out.

Slowly, he brought the cigarette to his lips, his hearing at super sensitive levels seeing as he didn't want the doctors or nurses barging in and catching him in the act, especially after one nurse had commented on his terrible smoking habit, urging him to quit before he wound up in the hospital for a completely different reason. But what the hell did she know? Sure she was a nurse, but she didn't know what calmed him down; what made him feel at ease from the overall stress of his daily life.

As he finally managed to get the lighter to light, Mr. Jones stared at the flickering flare of fire, watching it glow a soft shade of orangy-yellow – the flame only inches away from his unlit cigarette. At first, he felt as though he couldn't move, finding himself almost hypnotized by the gentle flame swaying before him, the cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth now tasting as though it were dipped in acid.

_What is it going to take, Dad? _He heard Sam's voice ringing in his ears, watching as the hand holding the lighter began to sink down, his thumb releasing the small trigger as the light disappeared, leaving his cigarette unlit. With a small sigh and a rough pinch at the brim of his nose, Mr. Jones pulled the psychologically tainted cigarette out of his mouth, looking down at the still completely new packet of Marlboro's, as if mulling something over in his head. He pursed lips, his eyes shut tight as he reached over from the right side of his bed and dropped the packet, hearing it fall into the empty waist bin right next to the chair as he let out a long, shaky sigh of relief.

_I'll quit soon, sweetie, _his voice echoing through his eardrums. "I promise…."

(-)

For almost four years, ever since they had turned fifteen and begged on their hands and knees for Master Splinter to let them go topside and explore New York City in all its magnificent glory, Leo and his brothers were always advised never to go out unless accompanied by all or just one of their brothers. And although their sensei had faith in his sons and knew they would return home safety at a reasonable hour after exploring the nightlife, it still kept the wizened rat at ease that just in case they were to run into an ambush, they would at least have someone else to back them up.

However, as they got older, Leo and his brothers found that Master Splinter had grown more lenient on his rules, allowing his sons to explore the city on their own to blow off some steam or just embrace the cool night air for some peace and quiet.

Nonetheless, Leo still found it fitting to always ask for permission before he completely left the lair, promising his sensei a safe return before Master Splinter turned in for bed; which was usually around ten o'clock at night. The wizened rat nodded his head in approval and Leo was off, dashing through rooftops and scaling fire escapes, letting the chilled August wind brush across his face. He needed this, especially after the tense argument he had with Donnie that morning, which was a rare turn of events. Normally, he and Raph were the ones who were at each other's throats, causing the other to go out into the city to blow off some steam.

Donnie, on the other hand, was tricky. Ever the pacifist turtle, it was highly rare to see Donatello upset or angry at one of his brothers – normally because he was such a big pushover. However, when he did get angry, it was hard to tell when he was over whatever or whoever got him upset seeing as he just barricaded in his lab all day; something he'd do even if he wasn't upset. But, that was how Donnie dealt with relieving stress, just like Leo chose meditation as a way to relieve stress.

That wasn't the alternative tonight, though. No, tonight, Leo chose taking to the rooftops, feeling the tension in his muscles already beginning to unwind as he swung from a hanging clothesline and landed on the nearest rooftop, crouching down as he caught his breath and scanned the busy streets below. Saturday nights were usually the busiest of the week and although Friday proved to be a rather slow night for him and his brothers, tonight proved to be the complete opposite as Leo watched the city traffic creep at a snail's pace, horns honking impatiently while drivers peeked through their windows and entered shouting matches with one another.

The blue-banded turtle shook his head in amusement, chuckling slightly as he tore his gaze away from traffic, glancing back and forth to figure out what street he was on.

15th West and 71st Street, he calculated, a second going by before his stomach sunk with sudden realization.

"You've got to be kidding me," Leo groaned, looking up at the building across from him, noticing the familiarity of the apartment complex.

How could he not have noticed the recognizable buildings? The streets? Surely him and his brothers all knew shortcuts and long paths that lead to Casey and April's apartment, so how did it manage to slip Leonardo's mind that he was going in the direction of their apartment complex? Was he that wrapped into his thoughts? Was he so preoccupied with blowing off some steam that he didn't notice the direction he was going in?

With a frustrated sigh, Leo pinched the bridge between his eyes, a luminescent light catching his attention as he looked up at the brightly lit window at the far right. It was right next to Casey and April's living room window – a window Leo hadn't even noticed before. Then again, when he saw who occupied the room that shared the window, he understood why.

A quick flash of midnight brown hair could be seen through the window and Leo's heart felt as though it had sunken deep into the pit of his stomach. Without a moment's hesitation, he shut his eyes as tight as he could, turning away from the window before his pride was stripped from him, reducing the blue-banded turtle into a pervy creeper who had nothing better to do than to hide in the shadows and stare at beautiful young women.

With his hands clenched and his teeth gnashed into a frustrated snarl, Leo completely turned his back on the apartment complex, feeling an overwhelming wash of filth coat his body as he took off in a mad dash. However, Leo found himself not getting very far as he crashed into a hard surface, hyperawareness taking over as he reached for his katanas.

"Woah, what's the rush there, Fearless?" Casey asked, his voice slightly muffled until he lifted up his mask, flashing Leonardo a lopsided grin. "Hanging up your wings for the night, Mr. Guardian Turtle?"

Leo's dark brown eyes widened slightly at the remark, glancing over his shoulder before immediately turning back to Casey, his mouth open in dismay as he sputtered out a string of shaky words. "I-I—Casey, i-it's not what it, I-I mean, I was just—"

"—Hey, hey, slow down there, Leo." He held up his hands in a reassuring jester, chuckling at the blue-banded turtles flushed face. "Yeesh, what the hell's gotten you in such a tizzy?"

Leo opened his mouth, looking like a fish out of water as his heart beat rapidly inside his chest, crashing violently at the inside of his plastron at what felt like a million miles a second. However, as he stood there, staring blankly at Casey, he realized no words were coming out of his mouth and with a frustrated sigh, Leo let his shoulders sink in defeat, sheathing his katanas as he rubbed the back of his neck with trivial discomfiture. "N-Nothing. Just wrapped in my own thoughts, I guess."

Casey shrugged his shoulders, giving Leo the impression that he'd already forgotten about his sudden panic attack before he raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "So are you out alone tonight? Where're the guys?"

"It's just me tonight," said Leo, his voice finally losing its stutter. "I came out to blow off some steam."

"Uh-oh," Casey grinned. "What'd you and Raph fight about now?"

Leo shook his head, his shoulders shaking slightly as he chuckled. "It has nothing to do with Raph. I—I just have a lot of things on my mind right now."

Casey nodded, looking down at the traffic below them with little interest. "I know what you mean. Been kind of a stressful day."

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"It's just…" Casey sighed, pinching the brim of his nose, staring up at nothing in particular. "How long have you guys known me for, Leo? Three, three and a half years? You know the vigilante lifestyle defines who I am, right? It's what makes me _me_, ya know?"

Leonardo nodded his head, listening intently to Casey's words, watching him fumble with a small pebble that somehow made it on the rooftop they were standing on.

"My uncle Chris blames the city for taking my dad away. That's why him and my aunt Maddie hightailed it back to Northampton, 'cuz they didn't want Sam growing up in such a dangerous environment." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was young, so of course I never understood why my aunt and uncle never thought about moving back over here – letting Sam grow up with me. I guess I always thought it was because my uncle never really came to terms with his brother's death. But now I understand why."

The slight breeze of the August rush made Leo's bandana tails flutter past his shoulders as Casey picked himself up from his crouching position, his eyes flickering with an emotion Leo couldn't really quite detect. Fear? Anger? A mixture of both?

"Nobody in my family knows about the vigilante life I lead, Leo," Casey spoke, staring off into the distance as he let out an amused chuckle. "Hell, as far as I know, probably only a handful of people in my family even know I work in shipment. Sam wants to be a cop when she graduates from John Jay; a police officer in one of the most crime-filled cities in the country. I mean, yeah, cops don't really see much action 'cuz we're out their kicking ass and taking names – all they're doing is taking out the trash after we've tied them up and wrapped them in little present for them. But when I think about all the shit I've seen—all the crazy motherfuckers I've went up against; some with machetes, some with daggers, some with … with guns…."

"I see," Leo nodded. "You're concerned for your cousin's safety."

Casey let out a tired sigh as he spoke, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Man, you should've heard her back at the hospital, Leo. She just—sounded so _vengeful _when she was talking about becoming a cop and taking out the Dragons that messed with her old man. 'You and Mom can throw the biggest bitch fit this entire country has ever seen … but I am not leaving New York'." He paused, shaking his head before glancing up at Leo. "She sounded … she sounded just like me…."

"She holds passion in her heart for what she wants to do with her life, Casey" said Leo, resting a reassuringly hand on the vigilante's shoulder, feeling the tension in his muscles before Casey stood up and walked away from Leo while he threw his hands up in frustration.

"That's just it, Leo!" he growled. "She has the vigilante potential running through her veins – the determination to go out into the streets and risk her life for some vendetta against the Purple Dragons that attacked her dad. I _know _what's going through her head right now, Leo because those were the exact same thoughts I had when my dad was killed. _I _was the one who took the risk and decided to done the vigilante guise after watching way too many damn movies, but if Sam ever caught me in the act—ever saw what I did whenever I journey into the streets at night, she'll … she'll—"

Leonardo stood his ground, realizing Casey was in no mood to have a comforting hand be placed on his shoulder as his body shook with livid frustration, his fingers clenching and unclenching into tight fists as he grit his teeth in a harsh snarl before shutting his eyes tight. "How do I tell her, Leo? How do I tell someone with so much determination in her soul to reap the damage that has been done to her father about my vigilante lifestyle? H-How do I tell her … without giving her an excuse to follow my actions…?"

Leo let out a low sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he looked into Casey's eyes before glancing down at the ground, wetting his lips before he spoke. "I can't guarantee Sam will use your double life against you, Casey. But what Master Splinter has taught us is that at some point, the clouds must make room for the sun. You can't let your fear of what Sam will think cloud your judgment. The longer you keep your vigilante lifestyle a secret, eventually, she's going to find out and I can tell you now, the circumstances will not look pleasant."

"I know, I know," Casey sighed, letting his head hang down in defeat. "I guess it's just finding the right time to tell her, I guess."

"Well, don't do it any time soon," Leo advised, giving Casey a small smile. "Give her time to cool down and preoccupy herself with other things. Like school."

Casey nodded his head, straightening himself up before clapping Leo on the shell in thanks. "Will do, buddy. Thanks."

Leo shrugged his shoulders modestly. "I'm glad I could help."

"Listen, Leo," Casey spoke, bringing his hand to the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "I know Sam can't thank you personally for what you and Raph did for her dad last night, but I can vouch for her. You have no idea how grateful we are that you guys saved my uncle's life. Because of you two, Sam still has a dad to see for the holidays coming up as well as the rest of his existence. You really are a guardian angel, Leo. Thank you."

Leonardo felt his cheeks stain crimson as he smiled up at Casey before glancing away, rubbing his neck in modest bashfulness.

"Can I ask you something?" the vigilante asked, catching Leo's attention.

"Of course."

Casey paused for a moment, his dark eyes staring into Leo's dark brown irises before he quickly stared down at the ground, wetting his lips similarly to how Leo does whenever he tried forming the words before allowing them to escape his lips. "I know I can't keep Sam in the dark for very long. Eventually, I am going to have to tell her about the vigilante life I lead. But to keep her from finding out, I'm going to limit patrolling the streets until further notice, leaving you and the guys in charge of the city."

The blue-banded turtle nodded his head slowly, staring at Casey's face when he noticed he wasn't done speaking.

"I also need you to do me a favor," he said slowly, his head bowed, but his eyes staring into Leo's almost fretful face. "I need you to keep an eye on Sam, Leo. After what happened last night with her dad and the Purple Dragons, the last thing I want is for my little cousin to get hurt … or worse. Now that I'm no longer donning the vigilante guise, I need someone to be the guardian angel Sam needs while I'm not there…. Can you do that for me, Leo?"

"Casey, I—"

"—Can you do that for me, Leo?" Casey repeated, his words firm as he stared boldly into the blue-banded turtles eyes, his expression both gritty and apprehensive all at the same time. "Please."

At first, Leonardo just stood his ground, tearing his gaze away from Casey as he stared down at his feet, his fingers curling into tight fists. He glanced up at the apartment complex, catching sight of the now darkened window, figuring Sam had already turned in for bed.

_You're her guardian angel, Leo…._

_You're the leader, Leo…._

_What are you going to choose? _He thought absent-mindedly, the wind making the tails of his bandana dance as he glanced up at Casey, his eye ridges narrowed into a hard glare.

"I'll make sure nothing happens to her, Casey," he said, his tone low, yet boisterous as he reached behind to grip the handle of his katana, as if preparing himself for battle as he clenched his free hand into a tight fist. "You have my word…."

* * *

Teehee. Pervy Leo. ;3 Don't worry, Sam was totally clothed for any of you people with their minds in the gutter. I will admit my mind journeys into dark places sometimes, but Leo ain't gonna be seeing a naked Sam in this chapter. Although, I can't promise anything in future chapter. ;3 This story IS rated M after all. Mwahahaha!

Sorry for any of you readers that aren't too fond of Tcest. I, on the other hand, am a BIG fan of Leo/Raph, but I promise that little tidbit about Mikey pointing out that they showered together is about as much Tcest as you're going to get. I promise all the turtles are 100 percent STRAIGHT in my story, but I can throw around a few quips here and there. ;) By the way, no, they didn't shower together if that's what you're thinking. :P They just had the water on while they washed the blood off their bodies with towels.

Whelp, that's all I gotta say for tonight! I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 4 and remember, lots of reviews equals lot of pizza for the guys! :D I hope Master Splinter doesn't scold me later for buying the turtles so much pizza. I know Raph's starting to look a little pudgy, but nothing a hard workout won't fix! XD

Until next time!

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	6. Nothing More, Nothing Less

**Author's Note:** Could it be? A new chapter two days early? :D What can I say, I had SO much fun writing this chapter! The drama. The humor. Oh God, the humor. XD Let me bring this up now, this chapter will contain a rather raunchy conversation between the turtles somewhere in the middle, so if you're not comfortable reading that sort of thing, then feel free to skip over it. And if you simply don't give a rats ass, I hope you enjoy reading it, 'cuz I sure as hell had fun writing it! XD Also, big, big, BIG thanks to **Laurenadel Story's **for pitching me that idea to add to the end of the turtle's conversation. You continue to rock, chica! ;D

Alright, I'm not gonna go too much into the Author's Note seeing as it's already midnight over here and I gotta be up in about six hours to get ready for work, so let's give a big thank you to the people who reviewed for last weeks chapter. Thank you very much **adventuresstime**, **Snow Wolf Alpha**, **SleepingSeeker**, **Turtleformer66**, and **jacquiestevens6**. You guys all rock and keep the reviews coming! XD

On a side note, I do apologize for the ending of last weeks chapter seeming a tad bit rushed. I was so eager to write this chapter that I kinda got a little carried away and threw together the ending of Chapter 4 without revising it. But, I promise to prevent myself from doing that again because you readers deserve nice, clean chapters. :)

Now, without further adieu, here's Chapter 5! :D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to TMNT, sadly. :( But I do happen to own the Happy Meal action figures that I got from work, as well as a poster, a few T-shirts, and a Raph and Mikey plushie that my fiance got me for our two year anniversary. :3 Other than that, nothing else TMNT related is mine, but belongs solely to Nickelodeon. :P Lucky bastards.

**Warning! This chapter contains sexual references as well as harsh language from Raphael. But what else is knew, huh? :P lol **

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 5**

**Nothing More, Nothing Less**

* * *

**Sunday Morning**

_Taking off like a jet plane_

_High speeds and she ready to go_

Sam smirked as she mouthed the lyrics echoing through her headphones, kicking up the speed another notch as she made a sharp turn around the corner before spinning backwards, the wheels on her brand new blades screeching while she made the turn and continued riding through the empty sidewalk.

She basked in the cool air grazing against her rosy cheeks, not caring that the thin black hoodie she was wearing sadly wasn't enough to keep her warm. However, the rush of exhilaration that fed her adrenaline-powered senses as she skated was enough to keep her from freezing – that same surge of control she felt whenever she stepped into the ice rink. The mere memories were enough to bring a smile to Sam's lips as she brought her right foot forward just a bit and kicked off her left heel, turning her body so it spun like a dreidel in a twirling blur.

The rush. The power. The sense of control. It all gave her strength and made her senses switch to hyper drive before she ceased her spinning, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face before she giggled frivolously.

"Sorry, Case, but I'm _so _glad I decided to skate to school instead." She smiled, her attention peaked when Sam noticed a tall blonde chick with heavy eye makeup and bright bumblebee yellow blades skating past her in a rapid blur, her pearly white teeth flashing Sam an impressed smile before she took a sharp turn around the next corner.

"Nice moves, Baby Blue!" she called out, disappearing around the corner while Sam stood her ground, taken aback by the sudden compliment.

Baby Blue? Must've been referring to her skates. And the fact that Sam still looked like she was fresh out of junior high – a feat that held absolutely no benefit at all in her favor.

With a sigh, Sam followed the same path the blonde chick had taken around the corner before she realized she had finally reached her destination – the letters on the building spelling out 'Eleanor Roosevelt High School' beckoning her and a vast mixture of other teenagers forward.

Smiling excitedly, Sam quickly plopped herself on to the nearest bench as she immediately changed out of her skates and switched into her faded Converse, her heart racing at what lied inside for her at her new high school.

When she finally got herself settled, she slung her skates over her shoulder and amalgamated into the swarm of chatting teenagers, all who seemed to be mixed into their own little groups; joking and laughing with their friends, bringing up tales of their summer events, as well as making plans for later on in the day. It was a bittersweet moment, seeing as Sam had no one next to her to laugh and talk about the events of her summer with, what with all her friends being back in Northampton. But, she forced herself to perk up, knowing that eventually she'll start making friends at Roosevelt High. She just had to be patient.

As she walked up the steps that lead to the entrance of the school, Sam's eyes couldn't help but widen dauntingly as she stepped into a vast pool of freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, all taking up the hallways and steps that lead up to the second floor.

While it wasn't as big as her old high school back in Northampton, it sure felt like a bigger atmosphere, with teens splayed out in large groups, the walls splashed with colors of navy blue and silver, and handmade posters and computer-printed flyers for various clubs and future events taped up on the walls for students to see. It simply was a brand new setting – something Sam was eager to kick start into her life as she walked around the school grounds, her head looking back and forth, trying to figure out where it was students had to wait in line to receive their schedules.

Her focus was immediately broken as the clamorous sound of an annoying catcall echoed across the halls, making Sam glance over her shoulder curiously.

"Well hell-o, beautiful," said an athletically built, dirty blonde meathead as him and two other meatheads made their way toward Sam, each wearing similar haughty grins and carrying off an arrogant buoyancy in their steps that gave off the impression that they owned the school. Or at least, made them _think _they owned the school.

With a sneer of disgust and a lurch in her stomach that made her feel like throwing up her breakfast, Sam immediately tried looking to see if there was any way she could just walk away from the jock creeps, avoiding their pathetic attempt at flirtation that probably wouldn't do anything but piss her off. Sadly, there were too many teenagers huddled together in their little groups for Sam to maneuver her way through the halls without crashing into or tripping over half of them and before she had time to even think of a backup, it was already too late.

_Shit._

"Now why is it I don't remember a pretty little face like yours ever walking down these hallways in the past?" the blonde jock asked, managing to back Sam up against someone's locker with his arm hovering over her like an anvil over a cartoon character.

Sam shot the jock a hard glare, placing a hand on his beefy arm before gently forcing it down, satisfied that it was no longer hanging precariously over her head. She shrugged her shoulders and smirked a small devilish smile, looking Blondie dead in the eyes before she spoke. "I don't know, maybe because you've got so much hair gel on your head it's starting to seep through and kill what little brain cells you have left."

The lackey to Blondie's right – who Sam noticed was Asian and, like Blondie, also had a glob of hair gel plopped on his head to give it sort of a funky faux hawk – chuckled amusingly, his fist covering his mouth in a taken aback gesture. "Oh shit, this girl's got bite."

"Feisty little broad, ain't she? You sure know how to pick 'em, Joss," said the lackey to Blondie's left, his hazel eyes glimmering with interest.

As his smirk continued to grow wider, Blondie – who apparently was named Joss – leaned in closer toward Sam, making her shrink back until she was pressed firmly against the locker behind her, her teeth gnashed in a pissed off sneer. Feeling bold, Blondie reached a hand out toward Sam's chin, lazily tracing his thumb over the bottom of her lip, making Sam jerk viciously away from his grasp.

"Fuck off, asshole." She spat, slipping out of Joss's body prison with her shoulder purposefully ramming against his chest, cursing obscenities under her breath as she noticed people were beginning to stare.

_Great_, she thought. _Just stand there like a bunch of morons while this loser harasses me. Thanks for the help, guys._

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Sam stopped, not because of Joss's words, but because there was something preventing her body from moving. She glanced over her shoulder, noticing that Joss had his fingers wrapped greedily around her arm, making her wintergreen eyes widen with shock before they narrowed into a furious glare. Now the crowds really began to form.

"What's your rush, princess?" asked the jock with the hazel eyes and Roosevelt High beanie covering the little strands of dark brown hair that were visibly poking out from underneath.

"Yeah, I was only trying to be friendly." Joss smirked, his fingers tightening around Sam's arm almost painfully. "You know, play nice."

"Yeah, well I don't _play nice_ with others." Sam retorted, yanking her arm out of Joss's grip with a swift tug, her evergreen eyes boring daggers in his direction while the crowd of students _ooh_ed in suspense.

With the casualness of a billionaire playboy and a chuckle that made Sam want to deck the jerk across the face, Joss took a careful step toward her, that smug, toothy grin never leaving his face as he locked his muddy brown eyes with hers, a look of overpowering lust clouding his irises. "That's okay. I always did have a soft spot for bad girls."

"Hey, Casanova, lay off already!"

Joss's grin immediately faltered and the crowd all fell in a series of hushed whispers, making Sam jerk her head in the direction of the voice. She found her eyes landing on a tall, slender chick with thick, hipster glasses and very vibrant forest green hair – a Handycam camcorder strapped to her hand.

Joss scowled irritably at the film chick, but that didn't seem to faze her at all. "Take five, Steven Spielberg. You're not wanted on this set. Why don't you go back to shooting forest elves and fairies with your geeky little film crew."

The hipster chick chuckled lowly, holding up her Handycam and giving it a little shake, making sure it caught Joss's attention. "Because I think the footage I just took of you harassing an innocent bystander would be much more interesting to show Principal Hartmann and Coach Medina." She glared. "You may be our soccer teams' best defense player, Joss, but that little title ain't gonna get you far when the school board realizes they're letting a future sex offender play for Roosevelt High."

"Fuck off, Talyn!" Faux hawk boy growled, making Joss hold up a hand to silence him, the stern glare he was shooting at the chick with the forest green hair never subsiding.

Sam's eyes flickered back and forth from the girl with the green hair – who, according to faux hawk boy was named Talyn – to Joss and his cronies, her breath hitched in anticipation at what was going on and what was about to happen. Talyn obviously didn't show any signs of backing down as she stood with a hand on her hip, the other holding up her Handycam as she raised a mocking eyebrow at Joss, as if silently egging him on to make a move. Joss, however, stood his ground, his hands balled into tight fists as he glanced over at his lackeys, not saying a word.

After what felt like hours, Joss's shoulders finally sunk a fraction of an inch, his posture stiff as he tried to give off the impression that he was _choosing _to walk away from the situation rather than being forced. With a sigh of relief, Sam watched as the crowd began to disperse, leaving everyone to continue going about their business while Joss and his cronies disappeared down the halls, making Talyn smirk victoriously before placing her Handycam back inside her black and purple messenger bag.

"Thanks for the save," said Sam.

Talyn shrugged her shoulders modestly, giving Sam a playful wink. "No biggie. Sometimes those jerks need to remember that just because every other girl at this school falls into a puddle of horny goo at their feet doesn't mean the newbies are gonna start doing it too."

Sam laughed, watching as Talyn extended her hand out in a friendly gesture. "I'm Talyn, by the way. Talyn Gray."

"Samantha Jones." She shook her hand.

"_Fantastic_! Like the chick from the 'Eighth Doctor Adventures'." She exclaimed, making Sam raise a rather confused eyebrow. Talyn winced apologetically, rubbing the back of her neck in an uncomfortable gesture. "Ah, not a Whovian, I presume?"

"A Whovian?" Sam repeated. "Is that like something from Doctor Seuss?"

Talyn nearly doubled over, clenching her chest as if she had been shot. "Ouch! Straight through the heart! Okay, okay, I'll give you one more chance to redeem yourself. Quick: 'Jersey Shore' or 'The Real World' series?"

Sam stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Ick! Neither. MTV is like epitome of the arrogantly popular and brain-dead children of America."

"Ding, ding, ding! Give the lady a prize!" Talyn shouted, throwing an arm over Sam's shoulder before she noticed her empty hands and absent book bag. "You haven't gotten your schedule yet?"

"Oh, no, not yet. I was gonna go try to find the line to wait in to grab it until I was stopped by the jerky jock trio," Sam sneered, feeling Talyn's fingers curl around her arm before she was dragged hurriedly down the hall.

"Awesome! I still need to grab mine too. I'll show you around the school while I'm at it. You know, being the good Samaritan that I am." She grinned, ignoring the high-pitched squeaks of Sam's shoes echoing through the halls as she desperately tried to keep up.

Guess making friends at Roosevelt High was going to be easier than she thought.

(-)

"Hey, Don, look up Kaley Cuoco to see if she's married to anyone."

Donatello's fingers froze over his keyboard, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before turning his attention to his younger brother, an eye ridge raised in blatant curiosity. "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but _why _exactly do you want me to look up Kaley Cuoco's relationship status?"

Michelangelo never tore his eyes away from the television screen, his attention glued to the blonde actress in a repeat episode of _8 Simple Rules_, showing her in a checkered pink plaid shirt that was tied up to show off her slender stomach. He grinned devilishly, hypnotized as a teenaged Kaley walked across the set of her living room, making him sigh in a dreamlike state. "Because one day I'm gonna make her my wife."

Raphael couldn't help but chuckle, his hazel eyes peeking over the _Motorcyclist _magazine he was skimming through. "Yeah, right. And I'm bangin' Kate Beckinsale later tonight."

"Isn't she married?" Donnie asked quizzically.

Raphael flashed his younger brother a devious grin. "That's what makes things excitin'."

It took all of Leonardo's self-control not to groan in revulsion as he rolled his eyes while trying to focus all of his attention on his katas. Usually it wasn't a difficult task to tune the voices of his brothers out of his head while he trained, but ever since the conversation he'd had with Casey the other night, his focus had been wavering a little bit, making him get lost in his thoughts every so often rather quickly. Meditation only did so much, so Leo figured working on his katas would do the trick to ease his mind. However, Master Splinter was currently working on his own katas in the dojo and with the way Leo had been carrying himself throughout the day, the last thing he wanted was for his sensei to question what was troubling him. Hell, even _he _didn't fully understand what was troubling him. So, that left the living room as a substitute dojo. Although, Leo was currently wondering whether he should've chosen his room as his brothers continued to carry on their raunchy conversation.

"There's no way a sex goddess like Kate Beckinsale would leave her husband to spend a night with … _that_." Mikey pointed at Raph, making the hotheaded turtle sneer in offense while Mikey's lips tugged into a pompous grin. He jabbed a thumb in his direction, giving off an aura of cockiness – or as Raph would call it: douche-baggery. "Now _me _on the other hand—"

Donnie's amused chuckle interrupted Mikey's sentence before he could finish. "What happened to your wife, Kaley?"

The cocky grin on Michelangelo's face seemed to grow wider as he waggled his eye ridges mischievously. "Oh, she'll be there too, if you know what I mean."

Raph let out an impressed whistle. "Kate Beckinsale and Kaley Cuoco? Now _that's _a fantasy."

Leo ended his kata abruptly and sighed, his shoulders slumped slightly before he crossed his arms over his plastron. "Maybe it's a good thing we can't expose ourselves to humans. With the way you and Mikey lose yourselves in your sexual desires, the lair would wind up turning into one giant orgy."

"Oh, like you've never had yerself a fantasy or two here and there? C'mon, Leo, spill. I know there's gotta be an actress or singer out there that you've choked the chicken to a couple of times."

Leo grit his teeth in annoyance at Raph's vulgar words, opening his mouth ready to protest until Mikey cut him off, his baby blue eyes glazed over in lust. "I know Hayden Panettiere's helped me go to sleep a couple of times." He glanced up at Raph, an eye ridge raised in curiosity. "What about you, Raph?"

The red-banded turtle's lips tugged into a fierce grin, his voice carrying out a low growl when he spoke as he tried to control the soft chur that threatened to pass through his lips. "Mila Kunis, hands down. She may play a royal bitch in 'That '70s Show', but she's still hot as hell. Her and that chick who played Babydoll in 'Sucker Punch'."

"Emily Browning?" Donnie raised a curious eye ridge.

Raphael nodded slowly, his grin growing wider before he shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno what it is, but she's got that innocent-lookin' face. She's cute, but after seein' her in 'Sucker Punch'—the girl's got moxie. And that's sexy as fuck."

Leo raised an impressed eye ridge, his arms still crossed over his plastron as the tension in his voice began to subside. "Moxie? So a woman doesn't just have to have big breasts in order to get your attention? I'm shocked, Raphael."

The red-banded turtle shrugged hardheartedly. "Hey, a nice rack is always a plus too. But in the end, it's always that look of innocence that gets me off."

"Okay, that was info I could've gone the rest of my life not knowing." Donnie cringed, sticking his tongue out in disgust while Raph let out an amused snort.

"Alright, Mister Modest, what about you? What peaks yer little nerdy fancies, huh?"

Mikey couldn't help but snicker, a mischievous glint flashing in his baby blue eyes. "I'll bet he looks up pictures of girls dressed like Princess Leia in her slave outfit."

"I-I do not!" Donatello yelped, his cheeks stained a dark crimson as he cringed uncomfortably in his seat, making both of his brothers guffaw in pure hilarity.

"Dude, you're a _terrible _liar. You _so _totally do!" Mikey teased, pointing an accusing finger at his older brother before doubling over in laughter.

Raphael crossed his arms over his plastron and grinned, his shoulders still shaking as he chuckled while Donnie tried unsuccessfully to hide the blush that was spreading like wildfire across his face. "I guess it is always the quiet ones that'll surprise ya. Didn't know you were into the whole bondage thing, little brother."

"Shut up." Donnie glared, trying desperately to regain his composure. "Okay, fine, I'll admit it; I have my little guilty pleasures too. Who doesn't? But like Raph, I'm quite fond of the softer features on women. You know, a warm smile and gentle eyes. Like Emma Stone."

Michelangelo's lips tugged into a lazy grin as he thought about the red-headed actresses. "She was pretty hot in 'Zombieland'."

"And 'Easy A'." Raph chimed in.

"And who can forget the grand daddy of them all—" His fingers flew over the keyboard, making rapid-fire clicks before Donnie turned around his laptop, revealing the screen to Mikey, Raph, and even Leo – despite his disinterest in the entire conversation. "—'The House Bunny'."

The sound of his brother's low whistles and catcalls made Leo feel almost sick to his stomach as he shook his head and began to step out of the living room, the thought of losing himself in a good book before their nightly patrol crossing his mind. "You guys are unbelievable."

Raphael tore is eyes away from the sexy photo of Emma Stone on his brother's laptop, shooting a small glare at Leo before he nudged Donnie's arm. "Hey, Don, look up pictures of Scarlett Johansson. Maybe that'll pry the huge stick that refuses to come out of Leo's ass."

"Oh, _excuse me _for not succumbing to such chauvinistic bigotry, Raphael." Leo growled, his fingers curled into tight fists. "If that makes me such a huge stick in the mud then I'll just leave."

"Oh cut the gentlemanly bullshit, Leo and grow some fuckin' balls." Raph sneered, his golden eyes boring daggers at the back of Leo's shell – venom dripping from his harsh words. "You can't honestly turn around and look me dead in the eyes, telling me you ain't ever thought sexual thoughts toward a beautiful woman. I'll bet my entire stash of mags that you're mind is just as fucked up as the rest of ours. Am I right? Or am I wrong? _Spill_."

Leonardo felt his hands tighten, his knuckles popping harshly as he grit his teeth feverishly; his brother's words beginning to sink in. How dare Raphael accuse him of stooping to their level? He would never look at a woman like a starving lion would look at a hunk of meat. No, he was better than that. They were _all _better than that, but he was the only one that chose to keep his composure and shun those kinds of thoughts away – to deny feelings of lust and sexual desire. He wasn't some horny bastard that went around putting the moves on women just because he felt like it. He was a man of honor. A man of self-control.

Before Leo could open his mouth to protest, his thoughts instantly flashed to the memory of looking through Casey's photo album, gazing captivatingly at breathtaking photo after breathtaking photo of Sam; her long, flowing chocolate brown tresses, her soft Christmas green eyes, her milky white, porcelain skin, begging to be touched by his gentle fingers and….

He instantly shut his eyes, shaking away the thoughts before grumbling something inaudible under his breath. He was a man of self-control, not some horn dog him and his brothers beat up for trying to rape innocent women. Without uttering a single world, Leo stepped out of the living room and made his way up the stairwell, slamming the door behind him as he locked himself inside his room for the rest of the evening, leaving his brothers both confused and silent.

Raphael snorted under his breath, turning his attention to the TV while Donnie scanned over his laptop, trying to ease the tension before it suffocated the three of them in a haze of awkward silence. "Well, good news for you, Mikey. Kaley Cuoco is a free woman."

"Alright!" Mikey whooped, shooting up to his feet as he did a little victory dance, making Raph chuck his magazine at him before he ordered the orange-banded turtle to quit blocking the TV.

"However," Donnie piped up, making Mikey stop mid-jig. "That doesn't mean she could be secretly dating someone. Apparently her and Johnny Galecki had sort of an undisclosed type of relationship for nearly two years that nobody knew about until the two finally broke up."

"Ah, man." Mikey whined, his shoulders sinking in utter defeat until he perked up with hope shining in his baby blue eyes. "Do you think I might still have a chance if she's single?"

Donatello couldn't help but chuckle at his baby brother. "Maybe. Who knows?"

Michelangelo smiled optimistically as he glanced back and forth at his two older brothers, his tone soft, yet serious. "Do you think we'll ever find girls for us, guys? I mean, in all honesty—nothing sugarcoated or anything…. Do you think there's hope for us?"

Donnie sat in his chair taken aback by Mikey's words as he glanced over at Raph, who in return shrugged his shoulders meekly, a look of blatant mystification washed over his features. The purple-banded turtle glared lazily at his brother's poor attempt at helping him answer Mikey's question as he turned to stare at his younger brother; a look of sympathy flickering in his light brown eyes. "Well, April and Casey are proof that there _are_ humans out there who are able to look past our, uhm, appearances. So I suppose anything's possible."

Mikey looked up at his brother, blinking owlishly before he spoke. "But, Casey and April aren't girls. Well, April is, but she doesn't count. I'm talking about girls who'll see us as, well … lovers. Boyfriends. Someone they'd want to spend the rest of their life with…."

"Mike…" Donnie spoke slowly, racking his brain for the right words to say before he sighed understandingly, reaching over to place a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "I wish I knew the answer so I could tell you, little brother, but there are some questions we just have to wait and see until the answer reveals itself…. But if we stay positive, the outcomes could turn out successful. You just have to be patient."

Michelangelo didn't know whether to nod or not as his brother's words began to process through his brain. He settled for offering Donnie a weak smile as he got up from the ground and walked toward the couch, taking a seat next to Raph, who in return didn't say a word. Donatello glanced down at his laptop, the sexy picture of Emma Stone still eminent on his screen as he lingeringly stared at it, his stomach feeling as though someone had stabbed a big gaping hole through it before he exited out of the tab, bringing his laptop to a close as he stared up at his brothers and watched Mikey flip through channels in silence.

(-)

"Alright, you think you'll be able to remember where everything is by tomorrow?"

Sam skimmed through her class schedule for about the twelfth time, jotting down one last note before she folded it up and stuffed it in her pocket with a sigh, glancing over at Talyn as they tread through the sidewalk. "Hopefully. It doesn't look all too big on the outside, but once you step inside, it's friggin' huge! I just hope I don't wind up walking into a classroom only to find out in the middle of class that I'm in the wrong room."

Talyn laughed amusingly, brushing a strand of forest green hair out of her face. "Yeah, that would be totes embarrassing, dude. But at least we have the same lunch period. Just scope me out in the cafeteria and I'll help you find your next classroom afterwards."

Sam smiled, no longer feeling nervous about being the only person at school with no one to sit with at lunch tomorrow as Talyn laughed, noticing her excited smile before asking, "So where is it you hail from anyway?"

"Well, I would've been born and raised here in the city, but my parents figured it'd be better for my safety and well-being to be raised back home in Northampton," Sam explained. "I'm currently living with my cousin and his girlfriend while I finish high school up here before I transfer to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice."

Talyn whistled in awe. "_Fantastic_. Already dead set on what college you wanna go to; I gotta give you props there, Sammie. My mom's been on my ass about what college I wanna transfer to when I finish high school."

"Any ideas?" Sam asked.

Talyn shrugged. "Eh, the Art Institute sounds rad, but I dunno. Right now, I'm just a kid, ya know? I'm more focused on the bullshit projects I do just for fun. I'm not looking to create some masterpiece just to show off to a bunch of college professors who'll critique it to shreds. I still got plenty of time to worry about that kind of stuff. I'm sixteen-years-old—my prerogative should be having fun!" She smiled, tearing her attention away from Sam to look up, a slow grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "Speaking of fun."

Sam followed Talyn's line of sight and felt her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. While it wasn't exactly a typical place to put a skate park, Sam figured in New York City, anything was possible. With the freeway passes hanging overhead, shadowing the skaters in the cool, darkened shadows that shielded them from the sun, she watched in awe at some of the stunts being performed right in front of her as each skater showed off their own unique signature moves, popping ollies and kick flips with a twist of their own distinctive flare.

Talyn glanced over at Sam, grinning amusingly at the jitteriness in her legs before she pulled out her Handycam. "I knew you'd love it here. No self-righteous human being would walk around with their blades hanging over their shoulder unless they knew how to use them."

"This place is amazing!" Sam exclaimed, watching a skater perform a graceful fakie kickflip right before her eyes, making her heart palpitate in excitement. She couldn't _wait _to show her stuff and show off a little bit as she bent down to tighten the laces on her blades.

Talyn chuckled before she walked in front of Sam, crouching down so that her Handycam was pointed at a low angle before she began filming. "Alright, Sammie, let's see what you can do!"

With a curt not, Sam took a moment to scan the platform of the skate park, taking note of all the skateboarders, roller skaters, and even people popping wheelies on their trick bikes that inhabited it. She loosened her arms a bit as she mentally psyched herself out, pressing her weight on her right leg that extended outwards, her wintergreen eyes squinted in concentration.

As the seconds ticked on by, Sam found herself quietly counting down in her head, her concentration focused on the railing just slightly to her right.

Fingers curled. Breath hitched. Heart racing and….

She took off.

The rush of adrenaline shot through her veins as Sam pushed herself forward, gaining enough speed and agility as she weaved through the skaters, her body gliding through with perfect ease. In a matter of seconds, she found herself coming up toward the railing she had her eyes set on, already crouching down in a ready position as she extended herself with her legs, pushing her body up in a high jump before twisting it to the side.

The sound of clanging metal echoed through Sam's ears, the wheels of her skates connected with the railing in a harsh _clink_ as her stomach shot up her throat, making Sam grin from ear to ear at the familiar sound. With the balance of a tightrope walker, she ground down the railing in a rush of speed, making sure to allow her body to embrace for impact when it came to an end and gravity took over. With utmost grace, Sam landed perfectly on her feet, spinning around on her wheels as she enjoyed the chorus of impressed claps.

Talyn immediately raced toward her, her chocolate brown eyes wide in bewilderment. "Dude, that was so Jenna Downing!" She exclaimed, making Sam bow in front of the camera, her ego inflating just a tad bit. "Where'd you learn to shred like that?"

"I was a figure skater for nearly seven years," Sam explained, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I didn't start blading though until I was ten. Watching the 'X-Games' with my cousin one weekend really inspired me to transfer what I could do on ice skates to roller skates. It took a while to get used to the terrain though. Eating it on ice doesn't hurt as bad as eating it on concrete."

Talyn winced at the mental image while another skater rode past her and Sam, reaching over to nudge Sam lightly in the shoulder. "Sick moves out there, Betty. That grind was diamondz."

"Uhm, thanks?" Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow, looking over at Talyn for clarification.

"He likes your moves. And I don't blame him." She brought her Handycam close to her face, her free hand cupped around the LCD screen before she looked back up at Sam, sliding her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Alright, Sammie, show these locals how they do it in Northampton!"

Sam smiled before giving Talyn a nod of approval, glancing over to scan the terrain of the skate park once more, waiting for her eyes to focus on something that looked promising.

She spotted a vertical ramp just slightly to her right that wasn't really occupied by many skaters and her lips tugged into a fierce grin. As she had done before, she leaned her body forward; her right foot extended before she breathed in and slowly breathed out, her hands tightened into small fists as she charged forward, the icy cold wind grazing across her face like pins and needles.

The ramp was coming into focus fast and Sam crouched down ever so slightly, the wheels of her blades spinning like rapid-fire as they brought her up the ramp, making Sam's stomach lurch as though she were on a crazy rollercoaster. When she reached the top end part, she curled her body in a small jerk, the wheels grinding against the edge in a slick motion. However, Sam was so focused on the perfection of her trick that she hadn't noticed a skater chick standing in the line of fire, making her eyes widen and her heart stop.

The crash wasn't pretty as both Sam and the skater chick collided into a tangle of arms and legs, both toppling down the ramp with the gracefulness of a car wreck. Pain immediately followed afterwards as Sam groaned miserably, picking herself up and rubbing her head to ease the dizziness.

Talyn quickly rushed over to the accident, crouching down to place a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder as she scanned for any visible cuts or bruises. "You alright?"

"I think so," Sam mumbled, glancing over her shoulder to see the chick she had just crashed into begin to pick herself up, examining her fire engine red blades before Sam spoke apologetically. "Hey, sorry I crashed into you. My head was totally focused on landing that trick that I didn't notice you—"

"—Save it, Nus. Just watch where the hell you're going next time," the skater chick growled, making Sam's eyes widen, taken aback. Before she could open her mouth to say anything else, the skater chick immediately bolted, leaving Sam both dumbfounded and slightly pissed off. Hell, she was only trying to apologize.

"What the hell's her deal? Did someone piss in her cereal this morning or something?" Sam asked, glancing over at Talyn.

She shrugged her shoulders callously. "Don't worry about her. Renee likes to keep to herself, so it's best just to keep your distance and pretend like she's not even there."

"Does she come here all the time?" Sam asked, watching as Renee quickly grabbed her things and exited the skate park, throwing her bag over her shoulder in a small huff.

"She's captain of the Jam Skating Squad at school, so she uses this area to practice some of her moves or to blow off some steam," Talyn explained, closing the LSD screen on her Handycam before slipping it in her bag.

"Jam Skating Squad?"

"Yeah. Kinda like roller disco only with a b-boy twist. I'll send you some links later tonight, but right now, I gotta jet. I promised my mom I'd head to the store to pick up some stuff to make dinner."

Sam tore her gaze away from Renee when she was finally out of sight, glancing over at Talyn before she spoke. "I'll walk with you. I promised my cousin I'd head home before it starts getting dark."

"Cool beans." Talyn grinned, holding on to the strap of her bag before she motioned for Sam to follow her out of the skate park. "_Allons-y_!"

(-)

It wasn't hard to tell when someone was up to no good in the streets of New York. After patrolling the city for nearly four years, Leo and his brothers found themselves highly skilled in the art of scoping out suspicious behavior, wearing it down to even the subtlest of signs. A devious glance. A curt nod. No matter how obvious or how discreet someone was being, they knew what to look out for before the person of interest crossed the line, calling Leo and his brothers to action to kick some major ass. It was like punching in to work and Leo found himself clocking in early.

While he and his brothers usually saved their patrolling until it was completely dark outside, Leo had decided to take the streets a little early, informing his brothers that he'd eventually catch up with him when the sun had gone completely down. Because of his tense behavior from earlier, his brothers didn't question his methods, thinking their leader simply needed to blow off some steam and cool down for bit; let him clear his thoughts.

Although it wasn't Leo's intensions in the beginning, he did in fact enjoy the calming breeze that brushed against his cheeks, making him shiver slightly as his muscles slowly began to relax. It wasn't every day he was offered the privilege of exploring the city on his own – just him and his thoughts without the company of his brothers. It wasn't like patrolling as a team was a total burden on Leonardo. It just felt nice only having to worry about someone else for a change.

_Someone else_, he thought, making him ponder inquisitively. Had he ever have to worry about the safety of someone other than his brothers before? Sure, they looked after innocent bystanders that needed their help, but those were just empty faces – people they'd only get acquainted with for a few minutes before they disappeared into the night, having done their job and needing no other reason to stay and chat. What Leo and his brothers did out in the city was strictly business – the people of New York merely their colleagues; clients, almost. Nothing else. Nothing more.

_I need someone to be the guardian angel Sam needs while I'm not there…._

A guardian angel. That's what he had promised Casey he'd be for his younger cousin; her guardian angel. Nothing less and nothing more—no, he couldn't do that to Casey. To Sam. Allowing himself to step over the line that separated the two of them – keeping them at an emotional distance. Like all the other citizens of New York City, Sam was nothing more than a colleague – a business partner. If he allowed himself to promote to anything more….

_I can't…._

The sound of a bus engines roars snapped the blue-banded turtle out of his stupor as he glanced down over the rooftop he was situated on, watching as two passengers stepped out and onto the sidewalk. Immediately, Leo could feel that familiar pang in the pit of his stomach as his eyes locked captivatingly on Sam's bright smile, her lips moving in conversation while she walked with a girl around her age with striking green hair and thick-rimmed glasses.

With his lips curling into a small smile, Leo mentally patted himself on the shell for choosing to wait at this particular spot. It wasn't far from Casey and April's apartment and he figured Sam would've been out most of the day to soak up the last bit of freedom she had left before summer vacation came to a close.

As he watched the green-haired girl part ways with Sam, Leo got up from his crouching position, figuring he had done his angel-y duties as he watched the sun make its final appearances for the night before the city was shrouded in a blanket of darkness – the city lights filling it up with luminescent lights. But before the blue-banded turtle turned around to catch up with his brothers, the sound of a trashcan tipping over caught his attention as he rushed back toward the edge of the rooftop, his dark brown eyes wide with fear.

"Well, well, well. Ain't it a small world," said a dirty blonde athletically built teenager, pressing Sam against an alley wall, his teeth flashed in a dark grin.

Leo's fingers instantly tightened into hard fists.

While Sam tried her best to squirm out of the jerk's grip, it did nothing in her favor but make the dirty blonde athlete chuckle with amusement, grabbing on to Sam's chin as he forced her to look him in the eyes, his face only inches away from hers. With a furious sneer, Leo instantly reached for his katanas, pulling them out in a swift motion before scaling down the fire escape, feeling the rush of wind grazing his face all while trying to keep a low profile.

This guy chose the wrong night to mess with a ninja turtle.

(-)

"Let go of me, Joss!" Sam screamed, her teeth gnashed in a pissed off sneer as she tried putting all her strength in her arms, which were currently pinned over her head while Joss pressed her body against the wall behind.

Joss did nothing but chuckle lowly, the smell of alcohol filtering through Sam's nostrils whenever he spoke. "Your little film geek isn't here to save you this time, princess. Tonight it's just you and me."

Sam's eyes widened when she felt Joss's fingers lazily ghost over the hem of her shirt, her heart racing as she felt them begin to slip underneath, tracing her lower abdomen. She felt a mixture of both fear and sickness as she shut her eyes tight, opening her mouth to scream until Joss clamped his hand over it, making a small _tsk, tsk, tsk _sound.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, princess," Joss grinned, letting his fingers travel farther north until he felt a sheering pain slice through his arm, making him scream in pain before he noticed something gleaming right next to him.

A sword?

Confused, Joss glanced over his shoulder, his head moving back and forth, trying to detect where that sword could've come from—as well as the owner that threw it. The blood from his cut was already beginning to trickle down his arm as Joss immediately released Sam and grabbed the sword, slipping further into the alleyway with his focus pointed at the tall buildings that encased the two of them.

"Who's there?" Joss growled, his icy blue eyes flickering back and forth, trying to seek out his attacker so that he could kick their ass for nicking his shoulder. "Come on, asshole, where the fuck are you!"

"Right here."

Joss had to keep himself from yelping like a little girl when he felt the warm breath of his attacker on his neck as he spun around, bringing the sword up to his chest in a combative stance. However, his attacker was swift, ducking under the sword before he knocked it out of Joss's grip with a second sword, watching it fly up in the air and reaching out a hand to grab it as it came down, leaving Joss empty handed.

Before Joss could even get a good look at his attacker, he felt a solid force knock against his chest, pushing him back a good couple of feet before he regained his composure, doubling over in pain. Joss only managed to let out one wheeze before his body was pressed up against a wall, the arm of his attacker compressed over his neck while his face was shrouded in darkness.

"Having fun yet?" the attacker asked, his voice holding a growl to it, as if he were speaking through clenched teeth.

Joss felt his voice quiver in panic. "H-Hey, man, I-I'm sorry, okay? Please, I-I just had a little too much to drink. I-I wasn't thinking, okay, man."

"Leave. _Now_."

Joss immediately took in a large gulp of air as his windpipes were released from their crushing prison. Without a moment's hesitation, he obeyed his attacker's orders and stumbled out of the alleyway, rushing past Sam, who stood frozen at her spot, staring into the darkness of the alleyway with fear flickering in her wintergreen eyes. She couldn't see much – just a silhouette of the man who had saved her as he sheathed his twin blades, turning around to face her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice gentle and calm, catching Sam off guard.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered.

"Good."

Sam raised a curious eyebrow, taking a small, cautious step toward her savior, watching as the muscles in his shoulders tensed slightly at her attempt to get closer. She glanced down at her shoes before looking back up at the mystery man, wetting her lips before she spoke. "Y-You know, I can't exactly give a proper thank you unless I know the name of the man who saved me." She smiled, watching for any visible body language her savior could be caring off.

At first, the mystery man just stood there in silence, glancing down at the ground before turning his attention at the wall near him, making Sam feel as though he were mulling over giving him her real name or a false identity. In their current situation, it wouldn't really matter, seeing as she couldn't see his face or what he looked like. Although, here was a sense of familiarity to his voice. Where had she heard it before?

"I have reasons that prevent me from doing so," he spoke, hesitation eminent in his voice. "But know that you'll always have someone to look out for you in the streets of the city."

Sam giggled, her eyes shining brightly. "So what, you're like my guardian … angel." Her eyes widened in sudden realization as she took one more step toward her savior, making him jump slightly as he took one step back. Sam squinted her eyes slightly, trying to see past the darkness for any sign of her guardian angel's face; any hint that would give her an idea of what he looked like. "Who are you?" She asked slowly.

Her savior didn't utter a single word as he nodded politely at Sam before jumping up on to the nearest fire escape, climbing up the steps with the gracefulness of a ninja while Sam watched him in awe.

"Make it home safely," he said, climbing up the last few steps before he disappeared onto the rooftop, making Sam stand her ground, totally awestruck. Did that just happen? Did that seriously just happen?

"April was right," Sam whispered, her focus still on the fire escape her savior had just scaled on before he vanished into the night.

She really did have herself a guardian angel….

* * *

Hooray! We FINALLY got to see a little interaction with Leo and Sam! x3 Sorry it was so brief, but I promise readers, from here on end, there's going to be more and more interactions with Leo and Sam in further chapters as their relationship begins to progress. :3 I have big plans for these two and I'm eager to write them soon!

Also, I apologize to any Doctor Who fans if Talyn's Whovianese sounds a bit weird. I'm not an avid Whovian, but I do try to catch the show whenever my brother watches it on Netflix. The same with the skater lingo too. For any avid skaters that are reading this chapter, sorry if the dialogue sounds a bit on the strange side. All the slang I got was strictly from the internet, so I hope the page I was looking at gave me accurate information. Heheh.

On another note, I know the description says this takes place a year after the 2007 movie, and seeing as the turtles referenced "Sucker Punch" (which didn't come out until 2011) I figured I'd cheat and state that although, yes, this story does take place a year after the 2007 movie, they didn't specify what year the movie actually took place, so I'm gonna go on a whim here and say it's around this time: 2013.

Lawyered! Haha! XD

Alright, you all know the drill. :) Now press the shit out of that review button and make Mama proud! XD Until next time!

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome)


	7. The Answer Is In The Stars

**Author's Note****: **Gah! Yes, I'm aware I'm a day late, but I just had so much to do over the last couple of days that it took me away from my writing for a little bit. :P Summer semester is coming to a close and pretty soon, I'll be going on vacation with the fambam, which saddens me to say that the next chapter might take a while to post up here. :( But fret not, readers! I promise not to keep you waiting _too _long and hope I make up for it by posting this chapter - which has more Leo and Sam interactions as well as a heart-to-heart talk with Leo and Master Splinter that I just had so much fun writing. :3

Alright! Let's get on with the thank you's! Thank you so very, very much for your reviews: **turtleformer66**, **SleepingSeeker**, **adventuresstime**, and **Craz****yGeekyLove**. Also, big thanks to **Laurenadel St****ory's **for your fabulous ideas! :3 Sorry I couldn't throw in the one you sent me last night about Casey and Sam, but I promise I'll be using more of your ideas in later chapters. ;) I also wanna thank **AlexHamato** for the idea about the constellations at the end. :)

Okie dokie! So without any further adieu, let's get on with the story!

**Raph****: **Do we have to do this?

Unfortunately, yes. :P Master Splinter has been on my case about getting you guys so much pizzas with my reviews and figured this would be a fitting punishment for all of us. So just get on with the disclaimer and make it decent.

**Raph****: **Fine. The Nerdfighter doesn't own the rights to any of our shit.

Raph!

**Mikey****: **Or the right to get us more pizza with her reviews. :(

Well, if I get enough, I can still probably buy you guys pizza once in a while.

**Mikey****: **Really? :D

**Donnie****: **What about the right to pair us up with any more of your cute OCs you've got planned for this story?

**Leo****: **Nice try, Don. For now, you're gonna have to wait your turn.

**Raph****: **Easy for you to say, Casanova.

Uggh, I do not own nor will I ever own the right to the Ninja Turtles cartoons, games, comic books, blah, blah, blah, blah. Enjoy the fic.

**Raph**** (grins): **That wasn't very decent.

Shut up.

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 6**

**The Answer Is In The Stars**

* * *

**Monday Morning  
**

"Yo, earth to Sammie!"

Sam immediately tore her eyes away from the passenger's window, snapping her head up at her cousin, who looked down at her with a questionable raise of the eyebrow as they reached a stop sign. "You okay, Short Stack?"

She blocked the thoughts of last night out of her head, not even realizing that they were distracting her to the point where she was starting to zone out. With a small smile, Sam nodded her head at Casey's concerned question. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nervous, I guess. What were you asking again?"

Casey paused for a second, giving his cousin an incredulous look until he eventually shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing. As they turned the next corner, only one more block away from the high school, Casey looked down at Sam, mentally going over his list one last time. "You got my cell number, right?"

Sam forcibly had to prevent herself from screaming at the top of her lungs in pure frustration, slowly closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. This was, what, the fourth time Casey had asked her this question? Along with a strew of other ridiculous questions like if she downloaded that GPS app on her phone that he showed her this morning or if she knew how to hail a taxi. It was all enough to drive her mentally insane as she forced herself to offer Casey a calm, gentle smile, all while building up a mental picture of throwing her cousin out the driver's side window.

"Let's go over this again, shall we?" Sam inquired, holding up her hand while she listed her options on her fingers. "I have your cell number. I have _April's _cell number. I have your guys' work number as well as the number to the apartment. Now, would you like me to add nine-one-one to my speed dial list or will the four numbers I just listed suffice?"

Casey couldn't help but laugh as he reached over toward his cousin and locked her in a playfully rough noogie, making Sam yelp and giggle while she desperately tried to wiggle herself free. When he stopped, she shot Casey a lighthearted glare; messy strands of hair curtaining her face, which made Casey double over in laughter.

"Buttmunch." Sam smirked, pulling down the sun visor mirror to fix her hair.

Casey's laughter immediately began to pacify as he reached over to grab his Monster energy drink. "Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I think I'm a little more nervous 'bout your first day than you are, Sammie. I just wanna make sure things run smoothly. I know how cruel some kids can be on the new kid."

Sam paused for a moment, giving her cousin a look of blatant confusion. "How?" She asked. "You've lived in the city ever since you were born, Case. How can you relate on the same level as The New Kid?"

Casey took a long chug from his Monster, shaking his head slightly at the rush of caffeine pumping through his system. "I may not be able to relate to them, but I've bared witness to way too many assholes ganging up on the new kids at my old school. Swirlies, shoving kids in lockers, trapping them in headlocks and hittin' them up for money. No one should deserve to be treated like shit just 'cuz he or she ain't from around these parts…." He paused, his lips pursed into a thin line as he tightened his grip around the steering wheel before instantaneously loosening it with a small sigh. He glanced over at Sam, a flicker of concern flashing in his dark eyes. "I just don't want that to happen to you, Sammie."

Sam's lips curled into a slow, warm smile as she reached over the place a comforting hand on her cousin's arm. "Relax, Casey, I'll be fine. Besides, if any bullies try holding me up for my lunch money, I'll just summon reinforcements to back me up."

Casey chuckled, remembering about the little friend Sam was telling him and April about over dinner the other night. "What was her name again? Taryn?"

"_Talyn_." Sam corrected with a giggle as she started gathering up her things.

"Right, _Talyn_," Casey repeated, coming up to the curb before putting his car in park. "Well, the fact that you've already got a friend eases my mind a little bit. Hopefully later down the road, Talyn will introduce you to some more friends. _Girl _friends, just so we're clear."

Sam slung her bag over her shoulder with a very unladylike snicker, looking up at her cousin as if he just told her something ridiculously hilarious – which in Sam's case, he did. "So, what, am I not allowed to make any guy friends while I'm here?" She asked.

"Hell to the no." Casey answered without skipping a beat. Before Sam could respond, his lips curved into a small smile, his eyes flicking to the side as if he were mulling something over in his head. "Unless I approve of 'em."

"Oh, wonderful," Sam said in blatant sarcasm as she hopped out of the car. "I can only imagine what guys you'd approve of to be friends with me."

Casey couldn't help but laugh as his mind instantly filtered with thoughts of the turtles – reminiscing of all the good times and fun laughs they've had with him and April. Although he still had plans for Sam to adjust to the whole move before he introduced her to the guys, his curiosity peaked every time he thought about whether Sam would get along with them or not. The guys would like her, no doubt about that, but would Sam be able to get past the whole mutant turtle thing? Hell, it took him at least a day for it all to sink in. Took April about a week. Would it take Sam as long as it took April or would she instantly be okay with the idea? To Casey, the big question really was: would she get used to the idea at all…?

The sound of the door slamming shut immediately snapped Casey out of his thoughts as Sam poked her head through the passenger's side window and smiled, saying her goodbyes and promising to be home for dinner. Casey nodded and also said his goodbyes, wishing Sam luck on her first day of school as she treaded off into the building, leaving Casey alone with his thoughts before he pulled away from the curb and headed off to another day of work.

(-)

"Pancakes! Pancakes! Chocolate chip pancakes!" Michelangelo crowed, making a mad dash out of the dojo and heading straight for the kitchen, leaving his brothers and sensei behind without skipping a beat.

The idea put a satisfied grin on Raphael's face as he dabbed at the sweat decorating his forehead from their morning training session. "Pancakes do sound good right about now. I just hope Mike makes enough. I'm starvin'."

"Likewise. C'mon, let's go make sure Mikey doesn't set the lair on fire." Donatello grinned as him and his brother exited the dojo, the sound of pans clanging from the kitchen rather clamorously.

Leonardo sheathed his katanas after the events of morning practice and walked over to grab his towel, wiping the sweat that was beginning to trickle down his face. As he did this, he felt thin, almost boney fingers squeeze his shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"Leonardo," Master Splinter spoke, letting his hand fall to rest above his cane. "May I speak with you for a moment, my son?"

"Of course, Sensei." Leo bowed, setting his towel aside – his gaze never leaving his father's presence.

The wizened rat flicked his tail absentmindedly before crouching down to his knees, sitting _seiza_-style while his eldest son did the same, resting his hands atop his thighs in a respectful manner. While the blue-banded turtle was more observant of his father's moods than his brothers were, Leo was finding himself having a hard time trying to read Master Splinter's thoughts as he felt the rather undecipherable aura radiate from his sensei's body. There was a moment of silence between master and apprentice until the wizened rat finally spoke up, breaking Leo's concentration instantaneously.

"There is a saying that the Japanese are familiar with back home, my son. _Deru kui wa utareru_. Do you understand what that means?"

Leo nodded his head once, keeping his posture straight. "The stake that sticks up gets hammered down."

"_Hai_." Master Splinter nodded. "A ninja's most powerful ally is the art of masking one's emotions. Jubilation, depression, frustration – while these feelings separate us from inanimate objects with no sense of emotion, they are also tools that could be used against us in combat. When one wears his heart on his sleeve, it opens him up for attack, making him vulnerable and effortless to take down." He paused, raising his hand to stroke his beard. "It may also cloud one's judgment and distract him while in the midst of battle."

"Forgive my interruption, Sensei, but I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about." He flinched slightly at the raise of his father's eyebrow, causing the blue-banded turtle to bow his head in forgiveness. "I'm dutifully aware of masking one's emotions during the heat of battle as well as letting one's own thoughts cloud their judgment. It was one of the first lessons you taught us while training us in the art of ninjutsu."

"Then why did you seem so distracted during practice, my son?" Master Splinter asked, using his cane to help lift himself up from the ground before tapping slowly toward his son. "Your brothers may not have been able to notice the differences in your strikes or stances, but I am your sensei—your father. Something has gotten a hold of your thoughts and is gradually eating away at your concentration. I can sense it in your aura. Please, Leonardo. Tell me what is it that troubles you."

"I—" His fingers curled, his arms shaking as he grit his teeth, forcing himself to breathe in and calm his nerves. "I can't…."

"Leonardo." A warning, not a command.

"That's just it, Father, I _can't_." He looked up at his sensei, his eyes pleading and flashing with fear – fear that he had disrespected his teacher in the worst possible way by not being able to answer a direct order. "I-I wish I knew what it is exactly that's bothering me, but I'm just as confused as you are. I mean you no disrespect providing such an excuse, but it's the truth, Master Splinter. I have no idea what—what _this _is and it's driving me insane."

Another flick of the tail caused Leonardo to flinch, as if waiting to be struck with Master Splinter's cane for showing such weakness and vulnerability. While both he and his brothers were well aware that their sensei would never intend of physically harming them on purpose – although he had swiped at their hands when they were younger as a form of discipline whenever he caught them doing something they weren't supposed to – Leonardo couldn't help but react in such a way. It was Master Splinter who bestowed him the honor of the leader; the one to look after his brothers in the line of battle – to lead them through the line of victory all while remaining sturdy, alert, and tactful. Master Splinter chose him because he was the only one who carried these traits on sturdy shoulders. And yet here he was, watching the honor of leader his sensei had gifted him with shatter right before his eyes as he bowed shamefully right before Master Splinter's feet.

He recoiled once more, not expecting his father to speak in such a placid manner. "Have you tried meditating, my son?"

"_Hai_, Sensei." He bowed. "I've tried meditation, resting, even spending time with my brothers hoping it would take my mind off of things. But—but nothing seems to be working…."

Master Splinter mulled his son's words over while he stroked his beard, humming in thought. "You spoke of an absence while you were away for your training, correct?"

Leo nodded, purposefully avoiding eye contact with his sensei. "I thought it was because I had been away from my family for too long. I felt better—more at ease when I came back, but … but I feel as though that only filled half of the void that had formed while I was away for my training. That last piece of the puzzle is still missing and I have no idea what it could be. I'm with my family again—my friends … so what else could it be?"

This time Leo didn't cringe when his sensei reached a hand toward him, placing it comfortably atop his shoulder, causing him to stare into his father's eyes.

"In due time, I am sure you will come across what it is you are searching for, my son." He smiled, letting his hand fall back to his side. "However, do not let it be the center of your thoughts, for they will only cloud your actions and do both physical and mental harm upon your self-being. When the time is right, what you are searching for will reveal itself to you. When that will be, I cannot say. Only time will tell, my son. You just have to be patient."

"_Hai_, Sensei." Leo bowed, feeling as though a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he allowed himself to arise from the floor, awarding his sensei with a gentle smile. "Thank you, Father."

Before Master Splinter could open his mouth to speak, there was a loud clang coming from the kitchen, followed by a series of curse words spilling from Raphael's mouth that made Master Splinter's ears perk up. Leonardo found himself cringing again as he glanced over his shoulder and shrugged, watching as his sensei let out a small chuckle before tapping his way out of the dojo.

"Come, Leonardo. I have a feeling we will be sending Michelangelo on another McDonald's breakfast run once again."

Leo chuckled, his shoulders shaking slightly as he laughed all while following behind his sensei. "You gotta give him the effort for trying, Master Splinter. At least he didn't set the—"

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"_Big fire! Big fire!"_

"_Mikey, ya braindead numbskull! I told ya the stove was set too high!"_

"_I thought it'd make the pancakes cook faster!"_

"_Both of you just shut up and go get the fire extinguisher before the whole lair catches on fire!"_

Leonardo let out a long sigh, his hands covered over his eardrums as he glanced down at Master Splinter, who also was covering his ears to prevent himself from going deaf over the blaring noise of the fire alarm. With a meek smile, Leo leaned forward, raising his voice so that his sensei was able to hear him through the piercing sounds of the alarm.

"Another McDonald's breakfast run?" He shouted.

It didn't take long until the wizened rat tapped his way out of the dojo toward his sleeping quarters. "I will go fetch my wallet."

(-)

_Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!_

The word had become like a mantra to Sam as she dashed across the now empty hallways, the squeaking of her Converse echoing annoyingly through her eardrums. She was late. She was _so _very late, having gone left instead of right while on her way to her first class. She could've sworn the gym was on the left wing of the school, but apparently that lead to the math and science buildings. Jesus Christ, the first day of school and she was already ten minutes late! This was definitely _not _the impression she wanted to make with her teachers, especially when she was such a good student!

As she made one last sharp turn, Sam's eyes widened happily when she saw the double doors with a sign hanging over them that spelled out 'gymnasium'. Without skipping a beat, Sam raced down the hall, slamming through the doors with the gracefulness of a linebacker, doubling over and trying to catch her breath.

"I'm here! I'm here! Samantha Jones, the new girl! I'm here!" She puffed, feeling thirty pairs of eyes stare at her as if she had barged in guns blazing with the intent to shoot up the school. With a meek smile, Sam immediately straightened herself up, clearing her throat in a discomfited gesture while her gym teacher flipped through her clipboard, her fire-red, caterpillar eyebrows knitted together in thought.

"Jones, was it?" The rather butchy woman asked, her icy blue eyes skimming through her clipboard.

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Sam nodded nervously.

Her flaming red hair tied up in short pigtails bounced slightly as she nodded her head with a grunt, flipping through pages before she spoke. "Alright, since you came in late, we'll fill you in on what ya missed. I'm Coach McGuire and I do _accept _tardiness, Miss Jones. But, seeing as you're new, I'll let it slide just this once." She jotted down something on her clipboard, not even taking a moment to glance up at Sam before she pointed a beefy finger in her direction – her eyes still locked on the clipboard. "You'll be on Colbert's team at the far end of the gym. Set your bag up on the bleachers and get yourself ready before I blow the whistle."

Before Sam could say anything, she immediately nodded and did as she was told, taking quick strides toward the bleachers where everyone had set their things.

Strange. It was the first day and already they were kicking it off by delving right into things? Nobody even had their P.E. clothes, yet Coach McGuire was still going to make them get all sweaty in their brand new school clothes?

With a shrug of her shoulders, Sam set her backpack down and walked toward the far side of the gymnasium where a group of girls were huddled together – all talking and laughing with their buddies, making Sam the odd one out with no one to make small talk with.

She sighed to herself, her shoulders slumping slightly until she felt something tap against her elbow in a friendly gesture, causing Sam to turn around curiously.

"What's up, Baby Blue?"

Sam felt a sense of familiarity as she stared into striking sea green eyes, noticing the girl's choppy, layered blonde hair that frame her face and curtained past her shoulders by a few inches.

Her memory instantly flashed to the skater chick she came across the other day as she snapped her fingers. "You're that girl from Sunday."

"Jackie Colbert, at your service." The blonde chick bowed, giggling as she straightened herself up, her bangs brushing over her long, mascara-coated eyelashes. "You're name's Sam, right?"

"That's what everyone calls me." She smiled.

Jackie grinned, standing akimbo as she motioned toward the other team. "Well, Sam, I hope you dodge and throw balls as well as you skate, 'cuz we're up against one helluva competitor."

Ever the curious one, Sam turned around in the direction Jackie was focused at and instantly, she felt her heart leap into her throat. Staring back at her were the familiar stone cold, dark brown eyes of the ice queen she had crashed into at the skate park – Renee, she remembered Talyn telling her. Although she didn't seem upset about the events of last night, judging by her rather placid, almost baby doll-like face, Sam figured the crash was still fresh in Renee's mind as she immediately turned away from her gaze, standing with her arms crossed while patiently waiting for Coach McGuire to blow her whistle.

Feeling bold, Sam walked toward Renee, her shoulders tensing nervously as she approached her. It was strange how she watched Sam move toward her with such placid eyes and yet still make Sam feel as though her gaze were boring into her soul; tearing straight through her heart in a laser shot of antagonism.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

"Uhm, hi," Sam squeaked weakly. "You're Renee, right? The girl from the skate park."

"Yeah." She spoke nonchalantly, her voice soft and almost angelic – although Sam swore she could hear the harsh frostbite in her tone.

She shifted from foot to foot in a nervous gesture, trying to prevent herself from staring down at her Converse before she gulped down the tension in her voice. "L-Listen, I'm really sorry I crashed into you the other night. I wasn't paying attention to wear I was going and that was incredibly dangerous and stupid of me. I take full responsibility for any injuries you may have gotten and promise you it will never happen again."

Her smile slowly began to falter as the seconds dragged on by without Renee saying a single word. Feeling as though her apology wasn't sympathetic enough, Sam was ready to continue on with her admission of guilt until Renee turned her back on her, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"You might wanna get back to your team before the game starts. It'll save yourself from becoming target practice."

Dumbstruck, Sam continued to stand her ground, watching blankly as Renee joined the rest of her team as if nothing had happened. Before she could even open her mouth to say anything, the piercing sound of Coach McGuire's whistle echoed throughout the gymnasium, making Sam jump, startled.

"Alright, ladies, backs against the wall!" Coach McGuire barked, waiting until both teams were firmly back against the opposing walls, all staring determinedly at the row of dodge balls that separated them into two divided groups.

"Now I want a clean game here, ladies! No aiming above the waist and no thirsting for blood. I want as little injuries here as possible. S'why we separated you from the boys. Now … _begin_!"

The sound of thirty pairs of shoes slamming against the gym floor reverberated off the gym walls as Sam focused on grabbing a dodge ball. Immediately snatching a red rubber ball before some other girl managed to lay a finger on it, Sam hurriedly started to back away, bobbing and weaving as the balls began to sail through the air like cannon fire.

"Sam, look out!" Jackie shouted, making Sam's neck snap in the direction she was motioning at before she instantly ducked – a red rubber ball sailing right over her head.

"Thanks!" Sam grinned, straightening herself up as she scanned the perimeter for any targets.

With a devious smirk, she spotted a girl who was wide open as she pulled her arm back and let the ball sail from her grasp. However, the girl must have caught her line of attack at the last second as she quickly stepped out of the way, revealing another girl standing right behind her.

Sam's eyes felt as though they were going to pop right out of her skull.

_THUNK!_

A whistle blowing.

"Penalty! One more and you're parking it on the bleachers, Jones." Coach McGuire barked, turning her attention at the girl who was now rubbing her head in pain. "De la Rosa! You alright?"

The sound of Renee's harsh groan made Sam quiver where she stood as she felt intense daggers being shot her way in a fierce glare, feeling too afraid to look Renee in her dark brown eyes that were probably awash with anger.

"Yeah. Peachy, Coach."

_Shit. _

* * *

**Monday Evening**

"School teacher by day, stripper by night. She just had a long day dealin' with snot-nosed brats on the first day of school and now she's out with her boyfriend to grab a few cocktails and get a little tipsy. They haven't been datin' long and she figures tonight's the night she's gonna let him get to second base."

Donatello raised a confused eye ridge as he glanced down at the couple, watching them enter into the nearest sports bar before letting his head droop with a sigh. "Do your accusations always have to involve sex and strippers?"

Raphael shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "The game is called 'That Guy Is a Gigolo', ain't it?"

"In this case, shouldn't it be called 'That Girl Is a Stripper'?" Mikey pointed out.

Donnie pinched the bridge between his eyes in frustration, letting out a long sigh. "Never mind. I'm done playing."

Leonardo rolled his eyes at his brothers as he scanned the busy streets of downtown Manhattan, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. While the slow periods seemed to have come to a close now that the weekend was over, it kept Leo and his brothers rather busy, having already taken down two robbers and a group of gangbangers trying to strip people's cars for parts. Already two hours into their patrol, Leo and his brothers figured a short break was in order to regain their strength before they delved into the streets of New York once again. However, Leo was feeling rather anxious, his hands curling and uncurling almost frantically before stepping away from the rooftop ledge.

"Alright, my battery feels recharged. Ready for round two?" Raphael asked, stretching his arms before pulling out his sais, ready for battle.

Leo, however, offered his brother's a rather sheepish look before wetting his lips to speak. "Actually, I think I'm going to turn in early tonight."

"What, why?" Donnie asked, his voice etched with concern.

Leo lifted his hand and brought it to his stomach, indicating a small ache as his face morphed into a painful grimace. "I think I ate too much this morning. My body's not used to eating that much grease."

"Didn't seem to stop ya from shovelin' down those Sausage Egg McMuffin's," Raphael retorted, making Leo shoot him a lazy glare.

"You sure you don't wanna squeeze in one more fight, bro?" Mikey asked, twirling his nunchucks absentmindedly.

Leo shook his head, providing his brothers with a weak smile. "What I need right now is rest, Mikey and I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll see you all back at the lair, okay?"

"Uhm, okay. Feel better, Leo." Donnie called out, watching as his brother disappeared into the night, leaving him and his brothers in an aura of blatant confusion.

(-)

"_Viola_! Le dinner, she is served!"

Sam rolled her eyes at Casey's horrible French accent as she pulled down the sleeve of her sweater, making sure her the bruise she had gotten while playing dodgeball this morning was completely covered. "You do realize this is Chinese food, not French cuisine. Right, Case?"

"Details, details. Just dig in, Short Stack and enjoy the grub," said Casey, reaching over the table to grab some spring rolls to add to his plate.

"Sorry I wasn't able to cook tonight, Sam. I had no idea that meeting with the art museum collector was going to take so long."

Sam waved off April's apology and smiled, reaching over to grab a helping of orange chicken. "Don't sweat it, April. I wouldn't want you coming home exhausted and then have to worry about cooking dinner. Take out is just as good."

Casey wolfed down his beef and broccoli like a starving hyena before he glanced over at his cousin mid-chew. "Speaking of sweating – aren't you roasting in that sweater you got on, Sammie? It's like seventy-nine degrees in the apartment."

Sam forced herself to look as normal as possible as she tugged the hem of her sleeve, trying to focus on her plate as she scooped up a forkful of fried rice. "Guess I'm still adjusting to the change of weather. It doesn't start getting this cold in Northampton so early in August. Heheh."

Casey looked at Sam with a rather suspicious raise of the eyebrow until he mentally shrugged it off before changing the subject – taking a stab at his broccoli with his fork before shoving it in his mouth. "So how was school? You do alright on your first day?"

"School was great!" Sam piped, mentally cursing herself for sounding way too eager than she intended to, which she hoped didn't make her sound like she was lying through her teeth. "I, uh, I have one class next door to Talyn after lunch, so she got to show me where my trigonometry class was."

"That was nice of her." April smiled. "Did you two hang out after school?"

"Nah, she goes to the Film Club right after school." Sam informed, reaching over the table to grab another helping of spring rolls.

"You should invite her over sometime," said Casey, also reaching for the spring rolls. "Any friend of Sammie's is a friend of—"

"Ouch!"

Sam immediately retracted her arm back, wincing in pain at the light bump of her cousin's arm. She hadn't been paying attention at Casey's incoming reach as they both simultaneously grabbed for the spring rolls, which caused him to accidentally bump her right where her bruise was.

Casey and April's eyes were immediately on Sam's, both wearing twin looks of blatant confusion.

"Sammie, you alright? Did I hurt ya?" Casey asked, leaning over to check Sam's arm before she coward back, her voice shaking in agitation.

"I-I'm fine, Case. Really, i-it's nothing."

Sam's words seem to fall on deaf ears as Casey curiously reached over and grabbed Sam's arm, lifting her sleeve up only to be rewarded with the sight of a nasty purplish-yellow bruise.

April brought her hands to her mouth to cover her gasp while Casey's teeth gnashed together and his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Sam, who did this to you?"

Sam pulled her arm back in a fierce jerk and yanked down her sleeve in a huff. "We played dodgeball in P.E. this morning. It wasn't anybody's fault, I just wasn't paying attention and—"

"—Sam, that bruise is the size of Texas!" Casey shouted, his chair scooting back as he shot up from his seat. "Who did this to you? I swear to God if they think they're gonna get away roughin' up _my _cousin, they got another thing—"

"—Casey, _stop_!" Sam barked, her eyes narrowed in frustration as she got up from her seat. "This is exactly why I hid this stupid bruise from you. Because I knew you'd act like—like _this_."

"Like what? _Concerned_? Concerned for my baby cousin's—"

"I'm _not _a _baby_, Casey!" Sam shouted, making Casey stand his ground, taken aback. "In case you've forgotten, I'm sixteen—a junior in high school. I'm not a helpless little three-year-old who's always running to her daddy whenever something goes wrong. You're not my dad, Casey and I can handle tough situations by myself. So do me a favor and just leave me alone."

She slammed her shoulder roughly against Casey's as she stomped out of the living room, heading for her bedroom before slamming the door shut, leaving an aura of tension in her wake. Casey stood, unable to form words at the moment as he glanced over at April, who in return offered him a meek frown. With a frustrated sigh, Casey ran his fingers through his dark mop of hair as he collected his plate and finished his dinner in the living room with the blare of the TV filling in the silence.

(-)

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! _

Sam let out a frustrated growl as she kicked the ladder of the fire escape, causing it to rattle and shake. She knew she had crossed the line lashing out at her cousin like that. After all, she should've been grateful he actually cared about her safety and well-being. Hell, she probably would've done the same thing if she had suspicions that her younger cousin was maybe being bullied because she was the new kid at her school. But what good would that do? That only gave Casey the excuse to pry into her life and be her little bodyguard. This was high school, not daycare where you run and find the nearest adult to fight your battles for you. No, Sam was sixteen; a junior. No matter the situation, she had to deal with herself – prepare herself for the real world where she was going to find herself having to fight her own battles—no one to protect her.

Sam wiped the tears that began to brim her eyes, sneering in frustration at her lack of control to keep herself from crying over something that was her own fault. With a soft sigh, she sat herself in a curled up ball, her chin resting on her knees in defeat as she let the tears trickle down her cheeks. Shutting her eyes, she allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts until the faint squeaking noise above her snapped her out of her thoughts.

Across from the apartment complex was a boarding home where the owners liked to use clotheslines to hang and dry their laundry. Sam figured one of the owners was pulling in the towels that were left to dry, but noticed a small towel was being pushed toward her, stopping one it reached over her head.

Curiously, she picked herself up and glanced over on the other side, noticing that someone was seated on the fire escape across from her. She couldn't make out the features of the person's face due to the darkness that shrouded them in the shadows, but Sam managed to catch the light wave the person sent her way, feeling the kindness radiate toward her.

"It's not a tissue, but it'll have to do."

Sam's eyes widened at that familiar voice, glancing over at the towel before turning her attention back at her guardian angel, her heart palpitating against her chest in excitement. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

The figure leaned against the railing of the fire escape almost casually, his wrists resting atop the bar while his hands hung nonchalantly. "Doing my job."

"Looking out for me? I thought angels were only supposed to appear when the person they sought out to protect was in danger."

"You may not be in danger, but you're clearly in distress."

Sam stood taken aback, glancing back up at the towel before she unhooked it and held it in her hands. She could already feel her tears drying up from the harsh coldness outside, but before she could use the towel to wipe away any lingering tears, her guardian spoke once more.

"Something troubles you." A statement, not a question.

Sam laughed quietly to herself, setting the towel aside. "It's nothing. Just me being my usual stubborn self too oblivious to notice when someone is merely just trying to help."

"I see."

Sam glanced up at her guardian, taking note of the formalness in his tone before she continued to speak. "I—I had an argument with my cousin. Some girl I accidentally pissed off shot a dodge ball right at my arm and it formed this big old nasty bruise—"

"—Are you alright?" She could sense the worry in her guardian's tone, which made Sam smile while her cheeks stained a light pink.

"I'm fine. My cousin flipped out though and I sort of—retracted. I know he was only voicing his concerns, but—I don't know. When I was younger, I didn't mind it at all when he would look out for me any chance he got, but now … it's just—"

"—Makes you feel helpless."

Sam nodded, glancing down at her shoes in guilt. "I guess I want to prove to myself that I can handle certain situations on my own. I don't always need someone hanging over my head to protect me because it'll only make me weak later on down the road. Nobody's going to always be there to hold my hand when the going gets tough."

"True. But that doesn't necessarily make you weak when asking for assistance." He leaned away from the railing, bringing his arms up and crossing them over his chest. "In the heat of combat, one simply can't go rushing into battle unless he or she knows what they're up against. Five against one is almost always going to end in torment for the latter. That's why it's common for people to form bonds, so that they may help one another in their time of distress."

"You've got a point there." Sam chuckled lightly, glancing back up with her evergreen eyes twinkling in mirth. "Kind of like how you just helped me right now. By turning my frown upside down."

She couldn't really tell from the darkness that separated her and her guardian, but she could've sworn she caught him shift almost modestly, as if her words had brought a blush to his face. With a small giggle, she leaned over the railing, resting her head on one of her hands. "You know, I still never got your name the other night. If we're going to keep meeting like this, don't you think I deserve at least a name from you?"

Her guardian shifted nervously, glancing to the side as if mulling over the idea. "I—I can't do that, Sam."

"Well that's not fair." She grinned. "You know my name but I can't know yours? At least give me a small hint. The first letter? Something that rhymes with your name? Something!"

Her guardian glanced up in her direction before his attention shifted up at the stars, his head scanning back and forth. In a city like downtown Manhattan, the luminescence of the street lights and flashing billboards was enough to overpower the twinkle of the stars that shone overheard, but one was still able to see a star or two here and there. With a raise of his arm, her guardian pointed upward, making her glance up at the few stars that shone as bright as they could.

"There's your hint. You can find your answer in the stars."

Sam raised her eyebrow in blatant confusion as the stars winked down at her. "The stars? Like, constellations? Are you named after a constellation?"

"Well, my name doesn't derive from a constellation, but there is one that poses as the shortened version of my name. The longer version of my name derives from a Renaissance painter and that's all I'm going to say. You'll just have to guess."

"Renaissance painter and constellations." Sam pondered, thinking back to any Renaissance painters her teachers may have brought up in her history classes over the years. What painters were in the Renaissance period anyway? And weren't there, like eighty different constellations? All she knew were the ones that fell into the zodiac category.

She hummed in thought, staring back at her guardian while she squinted her eyes in contemplation. While she was too brain dead to go over the list of Renaissance painters, she figured she'd just spout random zodiac signs, thinking she'd knock out at least twelve guesses before she had to whip out her phone and Google 'Renaissance painters with constellation names'.

"Uhh, Scorpio!"

Her guardian shook his head.

"Aries?"

Another shake.

"Taurus? Libra? Gemini? Leo?"

She noticed he stopped his movements at the mention of the last constellation as he let out an almost inaudible chuckle before hoisting himself up the fire escape. Sam opened her mouth to stop him from heading off, but her guardian simply waved, wishing her good night before disappearing into the darkness, leaving Sam dumbstruck where she stood.

"Leo," she whispered to herself, pulling out her phone and Googling the name along with the line 'Renaissance painter'; her phone instantly showing her pictures of the Mona Lisa as well as other paintings by the great Da Vinci himself.

Her eyes widened slightly as she glanced back up, hoping her guardian was still within seeing distance before she looked back up at the stars, watching them glimmer and twinkle in her wake as her lips tugged into a small smile.

_My guardian angel. Leonardo…. _

* * *

**Author's** **Note****: **And that's a wrap! :D Sorry if my Master Splinter sounds a little out of character. I think that was the only thing that bugged me about the chapter seeing as I've never really wrote Master Splinter's dialogue before. But other than that, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy reading it. :D Let me know your thoughts in your reviews!

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	8. My Duty Is To My Heart

**Author's Note****: **What's up, readers? ;) That's right, it's a new chapter! Thought I was gonna leave you all hanging until I came back from vacation? Pssh, no way! Well, okay, I was originally going to do that in the beginning, but seeing as my Film professor is totally chill and laid back, the only stress he gave us was to study for the final, so being the oh-so obedient student I am, I totally blew off studying and worked on this chapter instead. I never was the study type and winging it during tests has never failed me yet! :D Plus, this class was totally easy. I'm sure I'll fly by with at least a B. :)

So, originally, this chapter was going to have Sam and Leo interact with each other some more at the end, but I decided to change a few things from my notes and cut this chapter in half. But fret not, readers, 'cuz you know what this means, right? Next chapter is going to have NOTHING but Sam and Leo interacting with each other! XD I've got a TON of cute little scenes planned for those two in Chapter 8 that I'm sure you guys will forgive me for having to wait until I get back from vacation to read it. Hell, this chapter sounds so cute in my head, I think I might write a little bit to it while I'm on vacation. ;) I'm just so excited with how this chapter's going to turn out that I wanna get started on it as soon as possible. Who knows, maybe the words will just come to me and I'll have it posted by say ... Saturday night? But that's a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG maybe, readers. I'm not making any promises, so we'll see how things roll out.

Alright, enough with me blathering. I wanna give a big thanks to **Loving Leo**, **SleepingSeeker**, **hi **(I know that's probably not your name, but it's all I've got, hehe), **turtleformer66**, **adventuresstime**, and **CrazyGeekyLove**. You guys all rock and continue to give me the drive to write! XD

Now, on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own the rights to TMNT. Plain and simple. I also don't own the rights to Disney or the second _Mulan _movie. Yeah, I'm making the turtles watch a Disney princess movie. XD Well, just two of them. Any guesses on who? ;) You'll just have to read and find out!

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 7**

**My Duty Is To My Heart**

* * *

**Tuesday Morning**

"So did Operation: Bundle Up appear to be successful?"

Evergreen eyes scanned through the stream of information portrayed on the screen of her phone, as if Sam were searching for the cure for cancer right before the first bell was due to set off. With her thoughts elsewhere, she glanced up at Talyn by a fraction of an inch, her eyes still glued to her phone with heightened curiosity. "Huh? Oh, no, it didn't. Casey caught me red-handed and went all mother hen on me."

Talyn's shoulders sank slightly as they walked down the hall, weaving through the crowd of chattering teenagers. "Nertz. I told ya you should've let me put concealer over it so it'd look less suspicious. I'm pretty nifty with some make-up and a sponge. I still can't believe Renee managed to give you a bruise _that huge _just with a dodge ball. Girl's got an arm, I'll give her that."

"Uh-huh."

Talyn raised a curious eyebrow, hovering over Sam to see what had gripped her attention so tightly. "Whatcha lookin' at there, champ? Ways to get revenge on the little baby-faced broad? 'Cuz I know a website that'll give you a list of sweet pranks you can pull on—"

"—Did you know the name Leonardo spiked in popularity because of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio? Apparently his mother gave him the name because she supposedly felt his first kick after looking at a da Vinci painting in the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence. The name is now the one hundred and fiftieth most popular name for two-thousand and twelve because of him. Neat, huh?"

"Uhh, sure?" Talyn said slowly, her curiosity now morphed into general confusion. "Why the random spurt of info?"

"I just really like the name," said Sam, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible with her response; like it was a normal, everyday thing to pull out her phone and start randomly Googling pointless facts.

As she scrolled down the page, she offered her phone to Talyn, who took it with a raise of her eyebrow. Although she had only gotten to know Sam for a span of three days, she instantly sensed that this wasn't normal behavior. Nonetheless, she played along, looking down at Sam's phone as she pointed at the screen and continued to sputter more facts about the aforementioned name.

"Look. According to 'Name Berry', the name Leonardo means 'strong as a lion' and is of Latin decent. Mostly Italian. Did you know that Italy is said to have more masterpieces per square mile than any other country in the world?"

"Again, no, I didn't know that. Maybe I'll remember that little tidbit next time I'm on 'Jeopardy'." Talyn grinned, taking a stab at being sarcastically humorous, only to have it fall on deaf ears.

"Sounds cool," Sam replied absentmindedly, going back to feeding her brain with more streamlines of facts and data. Talyn rolled her eyes, the sense of being ignored ticking her off just a tad before she slapped her hand on top of Sam's shoulder, pulling her attention away from her phone with a large grin.

"Alright, spill. Who's this Leonardo guy? Some sexy Italian gorilla juicehead you're hoping will sweep you off your feet and carry you off into the Jersey Shore while you two fist-pump into the sunset?"

"W-What? No! I-I just really like the name, okay? T-That's all." She shrunk back, mentally cursing herself for the eminent stutter in her voice. "'Gorilla juicehead'? For someone who hates 'Jersey Shore', you sure seem to be familiar with the lingo, Taly." Sam grinned.

Talyn shrugged nonchalantly, her muddy brown eyes narrowed in a lazy, whatever attitude. "Just because I hate it doesn't mean I don't watch it from time to time."

"Uhh, that's kind of the whole point of hating a show, you dork." Sam giggled, finally shoving her phone back inside her pocket.

"Well you're just as guilty as I am for picking up on the lingo. So _ha_! Your argument is _invalid_."

Before Sam could open her mouth to protest, the sound of shoes squeaking against the freshly waxed floors could be heard echoing through the halls, making both girls look up inquisitively. Sam instantly recognized the silky, blonde layers and smiled when she saw Jackie Colbert coming their way in a breathless huff.

"Woah there, Full Metal Jackie. Where's the fire?" Talyn chuckled, letting the blonde skater catch her breath.

"You know her?" Sam asked, giving Talyn a look of uncertainty.

Talyn nodded. "Full Metal Jackie's a regular at the skate park I took you to on Sunday. You should see this chick rock a half pipe. It should be, like, _illegal_ to shred with such meticulous grace and badass-ery all while making it look like child's play."

"You can tone down the nerdgasm, Tal. I may know how to blade, but I'm no Fabiola da Silva. However,"—she grinned, taking a step toward Sam while her mascara-rimmed eyes travelling up and down, as if surveying Sam like a county fair bull—"I do know talent when I see it and this betty right here has got some major shredding abilities that have certainly caught my attention."

Betty? What the heck was it about her that everyone kept referring to her as Betty? She shared at least two classes with Jackie – one being gym, the other being trig/pre-calc – so Sam figured she was already familiar with her name.

Before she could open her mouth to ask what the whole reference to Betty was all about, Jackie stopped Sam from uttering a single word; her lips spread into a rather large smile. "Sammie, how would you like to try out for the Jam Skating Squad this Wednesday? We could really use another little spitfire like yourself on the team. Plus, anyone who can take a massive blow to the arm from a dodge ball thrown by de la Rosa is instantly cool in my eyes." She winked.

Sam stood her ground, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water before she realized she was stunned speechless. Someone was asking her – the new girl – to join their team because she thought she had talent? Just the mere thought was enough to make Sam's ego explode into a cloud of both self-approving pride and immense honor. She was thrilled! So thrilled that she couldn't detect the almost worried uncertainty in Talyn's voice as she held up a finger to grab Sam's attention.

"Uhm, Sam. Need I remind you who else is on the squad before you give Jackie your—"

The sound of the first bell blared through the halls, making Sam tense at the idea of being late for another one of her classes.

"Uhh, I'll have to get back with you on that offer, Jackie. Really, I feel truly honored and will give this a lot of thought. I'll give you my answer tomorrow at P.E. See you guys later!" And with that, she was off, treading down the halls with speed even the Flash would find impressive.

There was a flicker of concern in Talyn's muddy brown eyes as her shoulders sank with distress. Noticing that Jackie hadn't left for class yet, she placed her hand on the blonde skater chick's shoulder, her eyes narrowed seriously. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Jackie."

Jackie shrugged, slinging her backpack over her shoulder nonchalantly. "She'll be fine. I'm sure the whole thing with de la Rosa is all just bad timing. She doesn't hate the girl, she probably just thinks Sam is a clumsy ninny. Trust me, Talyn. I know what I'm doing."

With those words hanging over her head, Jackie stepped away from Talyn and merged into the swarm of teenagers, disappearing in her wake while the hipster chick let out a breathy sigh. Slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she treading in the opposite direction, stealing one last glance behind her before she too merged with the crowd.

_For Sam's sake, I hope you're right…._

(-)

_My duty is to my heart. _Leo couldn't help but cringe at the fact that a line from a Disney princess movie had found itself burned in his brain at the current moment, making him take another swing at the punching bag he had so brutally been assaulting with his fists for the past twenty minutes.

After his talk with Sam the other night, Leo had immediately hightailed it back home, figuring his brothers would be calling it a night and doing the same. Kicking up the pace in his steps, the blue-banded turtle had just managed to make it back a mere three and a half minutes before his brothers, giving him time to find a comfortable position on the couch and flip through a couple of channels, giving off a bored façade that made it seem like he had been doing this for the past couple of hours.

Donatello, being the concerned doctor of the group was the first to ask if Leo was feeling any better, in which the blue-banded turtle nodded and handed the remote over to Mikey once he plopped himself on the couch next to him. Having flipped through his usually set of channels, the orange-banded turtle's eyes widened in excitement when _Mulan II _appeared on the screen, making Raphael smack his younger brother across the head.

"No way in hell are we watchin' some girly Disney movie," he had spat, making Michelangelo rub his head where he had been swatted.

"Leo handed me the remote, which makes _me _the Television King and _I _decree we watch 'Mulan II'. So _leh_." He had stuck his tongue out in closing argument, making the red-banded turtle growl at Mikey's childish behavior.

While both Raph and Don headed off to bed – their manliness not allowing them to sit through a Disney princess movie – Leo found himself too comfortably rooted to the couch to get up and move to his room, leaving him no choice but to watch the Disney sequel with his youngest brother.

Despite the fact that _Mulan _was indeed a Disney princess movie, Leo and his brothers still saw and were familiar with the first film; having seen it when they were much younger, back when watching anything that had to do with Disney fell under the norm. The sequel – like many other sequels to movies – wasn't as good as the first film, but it still held a sense of style that Leonardo couldn't help but find, dare he say, _cute_? Although he'd never admit it to Mikey or any of his other brothers, he had to say he did quite enjoy the film, which took a small stab at his so called manly pride when he finally headed straight to bed after the movie was over. He swore on his honor if he started singing 'Like Other Girls' the next day, he was going to suffocate Michelangelo in his sleep. Heaven help him.

Much to Leo's satisfaction, none of the songs from the movie found themselves stuck inside his head that morning—although he couldn't say the same for Mikey. However, what did manage to pick his brain overnight was the overall message of the movie. 'My duty is to my heart'. Truly an odd metaphoric proverb. How could one's duty be to their heart? The heart was such a fragile, easily manipulated organ. A true ninja couldn't rely on just their heart alone in the heat of combat. To wear one's heart on their sleeve – exposed and out in the open for the enemy to see was just asking for trouble—to be taken down. Annihilated.

Leonardo swatted at the beads of sweat that decorated his forehead with the back of his hand, his eyes focused on nothing in particular – seeming lost; distracted.

_My duty is to my heart._

He snarled. It wasn't like Leonardo was completely callous and never listened to heart at all. Hell, it was his heart that told him to leave the jungle and return home after a yearlong absence.

Despite the ever-emergent fear of Master Splinter disowning him for not completing his mission, he missed his family terribly and figured that was the reason why he felt so lost; so mystified. Like he told Master Splinter yesterday morning, the feeling subsided for the first few months after his return, but the void never seemed to fill itself up all the way. There was still the tiniest of holes still remaining in his heart, making Leonardo yearn for a completely unspecified comfort. And it frustrated him.

_My duty is to my heart. Why _did that line keep repeating itself in his head? It served no purpose to his current situation. His heart was confused and complicatedly damaged so what the hell could it possibly do for him right now or in the future? Nothing, because whatever the hell _this _was, Leo was probably never going to find the answers to it. Ever.

_Well that's not fair, _Sam's giggling voice echoed inside his head and Leo could feel his heart flutter wildly inside his chest.

He sighed with both a mixture of content and disturbance. That was one thing he was slowly starting to come to terms with. The irrepressible ache in his heart seemed to subside whenever he was with Sam or within her presence, making Leonardo forget about the perplexing void that had been growing ever since Splinter sent him away on his training mission. Maybe that was the reason why he found himself so drawn to her, because everything about her seemed to wipe away all the confusion, all the frustration—masking it with pure serenity and composure.

_There's your hint. You can find your answer in the stars._

Leonardo pinched the bridge between his eyes and let out a perturbed groan. This was why he could never rely on his heart. Giving away his name was such a foolish and irresponsible thing; an action he was mentally kicking himself for the moment he let it happen. Although it wasn't all too bad seeing as Casey had plans to introduce Sam to him and his brothers later down the road, Leo still couldn't help but feel as though he had betrayed not only Casey but his brothers as well, being the one to lecture them about keeping their distances from Sam while he turned his back on them and ventured off to see her almost every night. It was a deceivable trick, but Leonardo couldn't help but continue with what he was doing. After all, Casey had given him his blessing to look after Sam when he wasn't able to, so the consequences of his actions shouldn't be all entirely that bad, right?

_Right…?_

Letting out one more sigh, Leo grabbed his towel and slung it over his shoulder, figuring he'd go make himself something to eat before Mikey tried his hand at cooking once again and turning the kitchen into a complete mess. With a small chuckle, he walked toward the exit only to have a rough body collide straight into him, knocking the blue-banded turtle down and pinning him straight to the floor.

Leo squirmed beneath his brother's weight and growled. "Mikey! Get off me!"

"No can do, Leo. Raph said you'd run away unless I pinned you down. Now you got nowhere to run and nowhere to hide." The orange-banded turtle grinned, while Raph emerged behind him, staring down at Leo with his arms crossed over his plastron in a stern manner.

"Somethin's up, Leo and we ain't lettin' ya go until you tell us why you've been so distracted lately."

"I—I haven't been distracted." Leo grunted, trying desperately to wriggle out of Mikey's grip.

"My ass." Raph snorted. "Ya got pinned by _Mikey_ of all people. The knucklehead can't even hold down Klunk when he tries to trim his claws."

"You know, if I knew you were gonna belittle me during this, I wouldn't have agreed to—_woah, woah, Leo_!"

Mikey's words were cut off as Leo hooked his leg around his younger brother's, twisting it and pushing his weight forward. The two rolled together on the floor and once Leo had the upper hand, he pinned Mikey to the ground, leaving the orange-banded turtle staring wide-eyed in shock.

"No fair! You caught me off guard!"

Leo couldn't help but grin. "You know what they say, Mike. Payback's a—_ack_!"

A strong bicep connected roughly against Leonardo's neck, making him gag as he was hoisted a couple of inches from the ground. Raphael smirked, enjoying watching his older brother struggle within his grasp.

"Were you gonna _cuss_? Shit, Leo, now I'm really curious to see what's got ya so distracted."

"I, ugh, was gonna say payback is a—gah, a cruel wench. Raph, I … can't … breathe." Leo huffed, his legs flailing as he brought his hands up to try and pry the hotheaded turtle's arm away from his crushed windpipe.

"I don't see ya tappin' out, Leo." Raph grinned. "C'mon, Fearless. You've gotten yerself outta worse choke holds than this. Maybe if ya told us why you've been snoopin' around for the past couple of days, I'd—_oof_! _Fuck_!"

He didn't intend to hurt him, just catch him off guard so that Raphael would release him from his chokehold. During their morning training sessions, Leo and his brothers would follow practiced katas and techniques that Master Splinter had taught them to use in battle, but outside of practice – when they just felt like play fighting or wrestling – his brothers fought dirty, which gave Leo no other choice but to do the same as he brought his foot back and connected it just below the area where Raphael's groin would be, using enough force to catch his younger brother off guard.

He landed gracefully on his feet while Raph doubled over in both shock and anger, taken aback at his brother's chosen line of attack. Leo glanced over his shoulder and smirked, his attention perked when he heard Michelangelo's footsteps slam against the ground in a hurried rush.

"Dog pile!" He shouted with a mixture of amused laughter, knocking into Leo and careening him onto the floor.

The two rolled and grunted, both trying to pin each other down all while shouting a mixture of "Tell us!" and "No!" lines while Raphael stood his ground for a minute. It didn't take long for the red-banded turtle to join in, managing to grab Leo by the ankles and twist his body so that he was lying on his shell, staring up into a large, feral grin.

"Let's see how you like getting kicked in the nads, ya little—"

"_Hey_!" Donnie yelled from the dojo entrance, welding mask flipped up and resting at the top of his head while he glared daggers at his three brothers. "Do you guys think you can tone it down to only a mild cacophony? I can hear you three all the way from my lab!"

"_Donnn_, Leo won't tell us why he's been acting all Bruce Wayne on us lately." Mikey tattled while Raph grunted in conformity, titling his head in a 'come here' motion.

"Yer the smart one, Don. See if you can get Leo to talk before I beat the answer outta him." He connected his fist into his palm, making Leo snarl from underneath Mikey's hold.

Donatello grit his teeth before taking a step back and pointing his welding torch at the exit. "Out, both of you."

Raph and Mikey both blinked owlishly at their brother with looks of confusion eminent on their faces. Raphael was the first to speak, his lips tugging into a pissed off sneer.

"You can't tell us what to do." He barked.

"Do you _really _want to piss off the turtle with the welding torch, Raphael? Now both you and Mikey, _out_. _Now_."

"But—"

Donnie jerked his head forward, making his welding mask shield his face while he flickered the torch to life, letting it spurt a burst of bright blue flames. Both Raph and Mikey shielded their eyes with their arms, scrambling to their feet and stepping away from Leo frantically.

"Alright, alright! We're going! Fuck!" Raph cursed, following Michelangelo's lead out the dojo, making sure to flip his brainiac brother the bird before he was out of sight.

Muttering his thanks, Leo picked himself up from the ground, brushing himself off before meeting his gaze with Donatello. The purple-banded turtle lifted the welding mask from his face, a triumph smirk grazing his features, which made Leo chuckle amusingly.

"I don't think they'll be bothering you for a while," Donnie replied, twirling his welding torch with a devil-may-care attitude.

"I give them two hours." Leo retorted, making Don double over in laughter.

The two were silent for a few moments until Donnie let out a nervous cough, rubbing the back of his neck almost absentmindedly. Leo could feel the tension in his shoulders grip him like the coil of a deadly snake. He knew what was coming.

"So, when _do _you plan on telling us what's been going on with you?" Donnie asked, leaning against the wall behind him with his arms crossed over his plastron. "As you couldn't have already guessed, we've all noticed the kind of diverted aloofness in your behavior these past couple of days. You're wound tight during the day, but at night, your agitation slowly depletes into a sort of tranquil sentiment. The next day, it starts all over again."

"I've just been a little distracted with my thoughts lately, Donnie. That's all. Nothing else. You and the others really don't have anything to worry about."

"But we _are_ worried, Leo." His muddy brown eyes shone with concern, taking a cautious step toward his brother, which made the tension in Leonardo's arms constrict.

The purple-banded turtle noticed this and retracted, his lips pursed into a thin line of annoyance that masked his saddened apprehension. He hated when Leo did this—put up this shield that prevented anyone from entering his vulnerable state of mind, even when their intensions were accommodating. It was a defense mechanism that Leo had used ever since Donatello could remember, making it difficult to offer a helping hand when his brother was in distress. He was the leader—their sword and shield. Showing any signs of weakness or hesitation was something immensely unforgivable in Leo's eyes, which both irritated and saddened Donatello to great lengths. Even great leaders knew when to ask for assistance when they knew they were on the verge of falling to pieces.

The soft sound of a gentle sigh snapped Donatello out of his thoughts as he watched his oldest brother stare down at nothing in particular. The absentness in his dark brown eyes showed that his mind was clearly elsewhere, making the purple-banded turtle's eye ridges knit together in question.

"I just have a lot to think about." He spoke slowly, avoiding eye contact with his brother. "I'm still trying to figure things out and I'm sorry if my behavior has worried you and the others. You all should know my intentions would never be to frighten any of you."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Don asked, his shoulders sinking slightly when Leo shook his head.

"Like I told Master Splinter, I have absolutely no idea what it is I'm feeling or why I'm feeling it. He told me the answers would reveal themselves when the time is right. Until then, I just have to be patient."

"Well when you do figure out whatever _this _is, you'll tell us, right?"

Leo's lips tugged into a warm smile as he reached over and yanked Donnie's welding mask down in a playful manner, making the purple-banded turtle chuckle as he tilted it back up. He felt a kind warmth drape over his shoulder where Leo's hand now rested and Donnie could feel the tension in his brother's arms subside as he spoke.

"You have my word…."

(-)

"She's _what_?!" Sam exclaimed, her voice nearly echoing throughout the cafeteria.

Talyn winced almost apologetically, already regretting telling Sam that Renee de la Rosa was one of the team captains for the Jam Skating Squad. She figured Sam would've remembered back when she told her at the skate park, but with the excitement of Jackie's offer clouding her thoughts, Talyn figured she had forgotten. She knew Jackie wanted to keep her in the dark until the day of tryouts, but Talyn couldn't do that to Sam. Especially when she was so convinced that Renee held this grudge against her due to Sam's overall bad luck and clumsy coincidences.

She absentmindedly clenched her bottle of Mountain Dew and sneered. To hell with Jackie's logic. Sam had a right to know what she was getting herself into before she made any final decisions. She only hoped this little reminder didn't make completely scare her off.

"Technically, she's more like the team's co-captain. She's Jackie's right-hand girl and choreographs some of the dance routines. She can be pretty tough at times, but I heard if you just shut up and listen, you'll make it on her good side." She sipped her drink, frowning slightly at the frustrated groan coming out of Sam's mouth.

"I don't believe this. There's no way I'll make the team now if Renee's the co-captain. I'm sure she'll be one of the judges during tryouts so why the hell should I even bother?"

"Oh, come on, Sammie. You act as though Renee completely hates your guts. I'm sure she's forgiven and forgotten about yesterday's dodgeball incident and has moved on with her life." She took a bite out of the big cookie she bought from the snack bar during break and winked. "Besides, I'm sure they're never gonna find anyone else who can shred as fantastic as you can. If Renee passes you up during tryouts then it's her loss. And I'm sure Jackie will be on her ass every day of the week for not letting you on the team."

"That's the thing, Talyn. I don't even know if I have what it takes to make the team. I mean, yeah, I can grind and do a couple of tricks here and there, but—dancing with skates?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment, taking a sip of her bottled water.

Talyn waved her off. "Pssh, I doubt it'll be hard for you to get used to. You said you were a figure skater for what—five years?"

"Seven." Sam corrected meekly.

Talyn reached over the table and slapped Sam's shoulder in encouragement. "Well then there ya go! Just transfer some of the skills you learned in figure skating onto your blades and you're sure to make the team." She grinned, sitting back down with her arms folded and her eyebrow pushed up deviously. "I'll even lend you my copy of 'Roller Boogie' so you can get a feel for the routine."

"'Roller Boogie'?" Sam laughed, raising a curious eyebrow. "Wasn't that movie made in like the seventies?"

"And it delivers with its cheesy B movie goodness!" Talyn squealed. Sam was silent for a moment, making Talyn look up at her with a look of innocence. "What? I'm an aspiring film artist, Sammie. Cheesy B movies are like my crack."

"Whatever you say." Sam rolled her eyes, taking another swig of her water until she was bumped from the back, making her choke and her water spew all over the place.

Talyn gagged at the droplets of water that managed to shower all over her lunch before she looked up and glared at the passing bystander. Sam took notice of this and glanced over her shoulder – an almost mocking grin flashing her way.

"Oops, sorry. It was an accident." Renee smirked, her large, brown doe eyes narrowed, making her look almost like a creepy killer doll.

Before Sam could lash out a comeback, Renee was already walking away from the scene as if nothing had happened, grabbing a seat at the next table while she ate her lunch contentedly.

"Alright, so that's how we're gonna play this game, huh?" Her evergreen eyes scanned her now soaked lunch, a devilish smirk tugging at her lips as she reached for her dessert.

Talyn watched this and immediately started shaking her head frantically. "Oh no, no, no, no, no. Sam, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sam looked down at Talyn, already up from her seat and heading toward Renee's table. "You know she bumped into me on purpose, Talyn. If she wants to turn this into an all out war, then I'm gonna give her what she wants."

"Sam, think about what you're doing." Talyn warned, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "All you're doing is adding fuel to the fire."

"You know what they say, Tal." Sam grinned. "Fight fire with fire."

Tuning Talyn's warnings out of her head, Sam walked toward Renee's table, hiding her dessert behind her back. At first, she didn't acknowledge Sam's presence and continued on with eating her lunch. But when Sam got close enough, Renee glanced up and gave her a rather rude raise of the eyebrow.

"What?" She asked, not even flinching when Sam lowered herself so that she was eyelevel with Renee.

"Just came by to give you your just desserts."

Talyn's eyes widened when she saw the piece of triple chocolate cake smash into Renee's face, the frosting smearing into her bangs as chunks of it fell from her face and onto her blouse. Her _white _blouse, nonetheless. The whole preoccupied chatter of the cafeteria dulled to a low hum; all eyes on Renee and Sam, wondering what could've brought this sudden turn of events.

With a satisfied grin, Sam took a step back and did a small mocking jig, twirling on her heels before pointing at Renee, watching the chunk of cake fall to the ground to reveal furious dark brown eyes.

"You mess with the bull and you're gonna get the horns, _chica_!" Sam crowed, only to stop dead in her tracks when she heard a low grumble of someone clearing their throat behind her.

Slowly, as if time was impeding to a slow crawl, Sam glanced over her shoulder, staring into the eyes of Principal Hartmann as he tapped his foot sternly with her arms crossed over his wide chest, making Sam's heart race frantically at a hundred miles an hour.

Taking a step back from Renee, she rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous jester, her lips tugging into an innocent grin before she glanced back and pointed at the chocolate-covered victim behind her. "She started it…"

* * *

I have to say, writing the bit where Raph, Leo, and Mikey are wrestling was so much fun to write. :3 And the little bit with Leo and Donnie - I almost died with the cuteness! x3 As for the _Mulan _reference, I blame my sister. :P She just recently found the second movie on Netflix and seeing as I've never seen it, I decided to give it a little looksy. It was actually really cute. :3 Nowhere near as good as the first film, but cute overall. I picture Mikey - being the fun-loving turtle he is - would still be into watching kids cartoons and movies, even a Disney princess movie. I see him being more in touch with his feminine side than his brothers. Hell, all of my brother-in-laws are basically like that. They all listen to Taylor Swift and are in love with the Twilight series. You're gonna make one lucky little lady very happy, Mikey. ;)

Whelp! You all know what to do! I'll try really, REALLY hard to get the next chapter up and running before I leave for vacation. Perhaps a lot of reviews will make me work faster? ;) Huh? Huuuuuh? You can't blame a girl for trying. XD

Until next time, readers! DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	9. Paradise

**Author's Note****: **I DID IIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT! I knew it! I KNEW I was going to have such a great time writing this chapter that the words were just going to fly right out of my fingertips and basically write themselves. Oh, my gosh, readers, you have NO idea how much I'm in love with this chapter! x3 It has all the mushy, sickly-sweet gooyness between Sam and Leo that your head will burst into an explosion of lovey-dovey candy. Mmm, candy. Haha! XD

Now, before I go on to thanking all the wonderful readers who sent me such awesome reviews, I want to thank **AlexHamato **for the little scene between Sam and Leo when she tries to get him to dance. Way back when I first started this story, she introduced me to a little exercise that helps with character dialogue and we did a little roleplay with Leo and Sam, which resulted in part of the middle to this chapter. Thank you so much for helping me out, dude! You rock!

As for the other person I want to thank, I wanna give mad props to **Lauren-adel story's **for all the fantabulous ideas you've given me for the past couple of chapters! x3 I'm happy to see our minds working on the same level, chica! You continue to rock my socks! XD

Alright, now to thank all the reviewers who totally blew me away by how quickly you responded to my little request. It truly did make me finish this chapter faster and I give mad props to you all! ;D Thanks a bundle: **Lunexa**, **adventuresstime**, **CrazyGeekyLove**, **CelicaChick **(for reviewing for Chapter 5), **Guest **(I know that's probably not your name, but it's all I've got. Heheh), **La****uren-adel story's**, **addcleric**, and **SleepingSeeker**. Keep the reviews coming and enjoy your reward! A nice big helping of mooshy, romanticy goodness! I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts and comments when I come back from vacation on Saturday! Enjoy, readers! ;D

**Disclaimer****: **By now you should probably already know what I own and don't own. Heheh.

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 8**

**Paradise**

* * *

**Tuesday: Late Afternoon**

April raced down the halls in a worried pace, her head glancing back and forth trying to find Principal Hartmann's office. She never realized how big Sam's school was and she found herself making a few detours here and there before she finally stumbled across a directory. She was close. The principal's office should be around the corner on her left.

Her heart palpitated inside her chest with an apprehensive flare as she sprinted past two teenagers cuddling by their lockers. Sam was _extremely _lucky it was her day off and that Casey was in so much of a hurry to get to work today that he forgot his phone, leaving April the one to receive the frightening phone call that Sam was in the principal's office.

Automatically, a rush of thoughts raced through April's head, but when she had asked what were the circumstances of Sam being in the principal's office, Mr. Hartmann did nothing but state that Sam's parent or guardian had to come to the office so they could discuss the incident face-to-face, bringing April to her current location.

Swallowing a small lump in her throat when she finally reached the door that read 'Principal's Office', April reached for the knob, turning it ever so slowly before she poked her head inside. Her eyes immediately landed on Sam, who was sitting in a chair biting her thumbnail nervously, her Christmas green eyes awash with trepidation. The sound of the door opening caught Sam's attention and she quickly hopped out of her chair and raced toward April, embracing her in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank God it's you!" Sam cried, squeezing April with enough strength that caught the former reporter off guard. "When they said they had talked to my guardian, I was freaking out that Casey was coming down to talk to Principal Hartmann. Oh man, what a relief. I feel like I can breathe again."

April wriggled out of Sam's hug, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking her straight in the eyes. "Sam, what is all this about? Why were you sent to the principal's office?"

Sam held up her hands in a defensive manner, her words spilling out of her mouth like frantic word vomit. "Okay, before you jump to any conclusions, it wasn't my fault, I swear. Talyn and I were just minding our own business when this girl came up behind me and—"

"—Miss Jones, Principal Hartmann will see you now that your guardian is here," Mrs. Taylor spoke from behind her desk, cutting off Sam's explanation.

With a nervous wince, Sam looked up at April, who gave her a comforting smile as they walked around the desk and down the small hallway, entering Principal Hartmann's office. They were both greeted by a very broad, large bald man with bushy eyebrows and a mustache to match. Without saying much, he instructed for both April and Sam to sit and once he figured the two were comfortable, he rested his elbows on top of his desk with his big, meaty hands folded.

"Miss, O'Neil, was it?"

April nodded.

"Miss O'Neil, you're probably already aware that the school year has just reached its second day. Not even a week has gone by and Sam has already begun to show signs of disrespect and disorderly conduct."

"But Principal Hartmann—"

April placed a hand on Sam's shoulder to calm her down. "Let him finish, Sam." She spoke evenly.

"Thank you, Miss O'Neil." Mr. Hartmann cleared his throat, making his salt and pepper-flaked mustache twitch before he continued to speak. "Now, I will forgive Samantha for arriving late for a few of her classes, seeing as she is new to our campus. However, her little act in the cafeteria this afternoon will simply not be tolerated. I'll have you know there's no excuse to shove cake into a student's face, Miss Jones."

April's eyes widened as she glanced over at Sam, who took a stab at trying to defend herself with a rushing explanation. "Principal Hartmann, you never gave me time to explain—"

"—I don't think your little childish act has room for explanation, Miss Jones," Mr. Hartmann barked, making the crinkles in his forehead stand out. "I will not tolerate this sort of behavior, so I suggest you shape up or else I'll have no choice but to—"

"—Hang on, hang on." April intervened, her emerald green eyes staring into Principal Hartmann's fire gold irises. "You mean you didn't even give Sam time to explain why she did what she did?"

Principal Hartmann adjusted his tie once again, looking down at April as if she were of lower class. "I assure you, Miss O'Neil that such immature antics don't need much explaining."

"Well that's just unreasonable." April barked, raising herself from her chair. "What if the other girl started this whole debacle? You're just going to go by what you saw and accuse the person who _looked _like they were at fault without even hearing both halves of the story? Or _any_ of the story for that matter?"

"Miss O'Neil, I advise you to calm down and—"

"—Sam, lift up your sleeve." April ordered, cutting Principal Hartmann off while she looked down at her boyfriend's cousin.

Sam stared up at April, her evergreen eyes flicking back and forth from her to Principal Hartmann. When she didn't do what April had instructed, April repeated herself, but with more authority in her tone.

"Sam. Show Principal Hartmann your arm."

With a slow nod, Sam scooted herself at the edge of her seat and held out her arm for Principal Hartmann to see. She pulled her sleeve up gently so as not to brush too roughly against her wound and when Principal Hartmann saw the large, purplish-yellow bruise, his eyes widened with complete shock.

"_That _was from one of your student's," April spoke with an edge to her voice. An edge that made Principal Hartmann look up at her almost nervously. "Sam could most likely be a victim of bullying at your school and you would've turned a blind eye and seen right past it because you didn't get the full story on what happened in the cafeteria. Maybe Sam was taking a stand against her bully because she didn't want this problem progressing even further."

"Or maybe"—Principal Hartmann narrowed his eyes, retracting back to his seat—"Sam could be a victim of child abuse, Miss O'Neil."

April felt her fingers curl into tight fists, but she forced herself to remain calm and not raise her voice to a furious shout. Standing her ground, she looked Principal Hartmann dead in the eye and spoke with enough composed evenness it made Sam's breath catch in her throat.

"You want to send Child Protective Services to our house, be my guest, Principal Hartmann. I have nothing to hide and neither does my boyfriend. But before you even _think _about picking up that phone, remember this. I have the right to contact the Board of Education and tell them my story about how you failed to hear an explanation from a student and were even willing to punish her for something that may or may not have been her fault. I'm sure they won't take too kindly to that, Principal Hartmann, so I suggest you think long and hard about the consequences of your actions."

Sam felt her heart race inside her chest as she looked from April, to Principal Hartmann, to April again. The tension was so thick she could swear it was beginning to suffocate her, but what amazed Sam was that April didn't even bat an eye as she stood her ground with as much confidence and determination as an MMA fighter staring down at their bloody, exhausted opponent.

At first, Principal Hartmann didn't say anything as he adjusted his tie and cleared his throat, an eminent sneer tugging at his lips. After what felt like hours passed by, he finally rose from his chair, hooking his arms behind his back before nodding politely at both April and Sam.

"Forgive me for wasting your time, Miss O'Neil." He looked up at Sam. "Miss Jones, I greatly apologize for not hearing your side of the story. Be sure something like this never happens again. You both are free to go."

(-)

"Okay, you are _officially_ on the top of my list of most badass ladies! I can't believe that just happened!" Sam exclaimed, her eyes shining with the excitement of a little kid on Christmas morning. "Seriously, April, I don't think even Beatrix from 'Kill Bill' could've done a better job than you did! You totally rock!"

April couldn't help but giggle, turning the wheel as she pulled up to the curb next to the apartment complex. Turning the ignition off, she pulled out her key and rested her arm on the steering wheel, giving Sam an incredulous look that made her smile falter into a worried frown.

"Sam, I understand something happened this afternoon in the cafeteria that made Principal Hartmann believe it was your fault," she spoke slowly, making Sam turn away to stare down at her shoes. April's shoulders sank slightly before she wet her lips and continued to speak. "I won't automatically judge you for your actions, but I want to hear the full story about what happened."

"…Her name's Renee." Her voice was just above a whisper. "She's the one who gave me the bruise on my arm. But you have to listen to me, April. This girl thinks I have it out for her and it's all just a misunderstanding. Because of my clumsy ass, she thinks I'm like out to get her or something."

"And why would she think that?" April asked curiously.

Sam sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "I don't know what it is, but it's like I'm her bad luck charm or something. Every time she's around, I wind up accidentally bumping into her or hurting her in some unintentional way. At the skate park, I crashed into her because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Yesterday during dodgeball, I was aiming for another girl but she managed to get out of the way and I ended up hitting Renee instead. And this afternoon at lunch, she bumped into me, making me spray my water all over mine and Talyn's lunch. She probably thought if she did something to me, it would give off the impression to back off and keep my distance from her."

"But you didn't take it that way, did you." A statement, not a question.

Sam winced, her hands moving with her words in a nervous gesture. "I was caught off guard and wasn't thinking about the consequences of my actions. Talyn warned me not to do anything stupid, but I had already apologized to this girl for the things I've done to her _twice_. I—I tried giving off the impression that I had absolutely no intentions to start a war with her … but she either didn't pick up on the signals or just completely ignored them. All the things I did to her—those were by accident, April. What she did to me was on purpose and it—it got under my skin."

"I see," said April, making Sam look up into her emerald green eyes in worry.

"You believe me, don't you…?"

"Of course I believe you, Sam." April smiled. "Sometimes, you can't help what life throws at you. You just gotta hold your head up high and go with the flow. But you also have to think before you act. Otherwise, it'll get you into a heap of trouble."

"You can say that again." She rested her head in the palm of her hand before glancing back at April. "Uhm, April, do you mind if we keep this little principal's office visit from Casey? He's probably worried enough as it is after the whole bruise thing last night. I don't wanna spring this on him too and have him go into another mother hen fit."

"Of course, Sam. My lips are sealed." April smiled, zipping her lips and throwing away an imaginary key.

Sam couldn't help but laugh before she stared back at the ground, her eyes flicking back and forth as if she were looking for something. "Uhm, can I ask you something else?"

"Go for it."

"Well…" She paused, trying to find the right words before she let them leave her mouth. "That girl I was telling you about—Renee. You see, I was offered to join the Jam Skating Squad by the team captain this morning before school—"

"—Jam Skating?" April repeated, raising a curious eyebrow.

Sam nodded, her lips tugging into an excited smile. "It's really neat. Talyn calls it roller disco with a b-boy twist."

"Sounds interesting."

"It is!" She exclaimed animatedly. However, her shoulders instantly sank when she continued to explain her dilemma. "The only problem is Renee's the co-captain and after what happened this afternoon, I-I'm pretty sure I killed my chances of making the team. Talyn says I should still tryout anyway, but … I don't know. I'm not sure I even have what it takes to make the team, you know? …What do you think, April? A-Am I just kidding myself and making matters worse by trying out for the team knowing one of the judges probably wants to shove her blades down my throat?"

"Sam, I'm going to give you a word of advice that someone very wise once told me." April smiled, thinking back to the wizened rat her and Casey have grown to know and love – just like the four butt-kicking ninja brothers that held a special place in their hearts. "'Instead of being afraid of the challenge and failure, be afraid of avoiding the challenge and doing nothing'. Do you understand?"

"Be afraid of avoiding the challenge," Sam repeated, her eyes flicking back and forth in concentration. "So basically, if I don't try out for the team, I'm gonna wind up hating myself for missing out on such an opportunity?"

April's lips tugged into a warm smile as she reached over and placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "I think you know what you need to do, kiddo."

"Yeah…" Sam smiled, her head tilted as she stared out of the window into the bright blue August sky. "…I think I do."

* * *

**Tuesday Night**

It was getting easier and easier for Leonardo to step out of the lair without having to come up with a different excuse every time he approached Master Splinter. Although he would never voice his confession out loud, Leo had to admit that it actually lifted a small level of stress off his shoulders, knowing that he didn't have to worry about lying in the face of his sensei. Then again, when he thought about it, Leonardo wasn't _completely _lying. Every night he would go out, he would inform Master Splinter that he was going to get some fresh air and clear his head. That _is _what he did every night so it wasn't like he was going against his word and treading off to do something else. No, Leonardo would never do something like that. It went completely against his honor. His title of being a loyal student to his master….

…But he wasn't a loyal student. No matter which perspective Leo tried to look at it, he couldn't mask the fact that he was going behind his father's back. After firmly instructing his brothers that they needed to keep their distance from Sam until Casey gave them the green light, the blue-banded turtle couldn't help but feel that Mikey was right. He _was _being a hypocrite. Because what he was doing – escaping into the night to go see Sam – was exactly what he had instructed everyone else _not _to do. He was going against his own word and for what? To relieve stress? To clear his mind? To forget about his title, his duties and responsibilities—even just a few moments…?

He felt the August rush kiss his face as Leo sprinted from rooftop to rooftop, all while admiring the glorious city lights and swarming crowds beneath him. Tonight marked the third night in a row he had journeyed off into the hours of darkness and without the presence of his brothers following behind him, Leo figured it was making everyone feel uneasy. Worried. Scared.

He sighed quietly to himself before scaling down the fire escape. It was a selfish act, but Leo knew telling his brothers where he escaped to in the late hours of the night was something they wouldn't understand. Hell, _Leo_ didn't even understand why he kept up this routine—about venturing off to Casey and April's apartment just to see her. To talk to her. Listen to her voice when she spoke back to him….

He tried to ignore the sudden rush of his heart racing inside his chest, but Leo was beginning to find the feeling harder and harder to ignore as it grew stronger with each passing day. He didn't know why it happened at times or why he always seemed to feel this way whenever he thought of Sam. All he knew was that her presence made the foreign feeling go away and be replaced by a tranquil sense of serenity and contentment; something he almost never felt when he was at home. Now that didn't necessarily mean Leo _hated _the life he lived. It just seemed like there were only so many problems and responsibilities he could carry on his shoulders. After all, he wasn't Superman. Even he had weaknesses. Flaws. Limitations.

But he was the leader—the eldest son. To show weakness and faults was completely unacceptable in the way of the ninja. He couldn't just throw his responsibilities away and carry on with life like he had nothing to worry about—no one to look out for. No, there were people counting on him. People who had great expectations for him. The moment he let his guard down, Leo knew the world around him would completely collapse and his duty and honor to both his brothers and his sensei would crumble right before his very feet.

He couldn't afford to worry about himself. Not when there were so many others in front of him to look out for….

When he reached the building across from Casey and April's apartment, Leo could hear the faint sound of an upbeat tempo transmitting from most likely portable speakers, making him raise an eye ridge with heightened perplexity. As he shimmied down the fire escape, he looked down below him, catching a glimpse of midnight brown hair sway back and forth in a graceful flow of hypnotic movements, making Leo's breath almost hitch in his throat at the beautiful outlook he was witnessing to this moment.

While Leo was aware that Sam was once a figure skater, her movements and rhythm weren't something one would transfer on to ice skates. Then again, Sam wasn't on ice, nor was she donning ice skates. Instead, she was gliding back and forth while wearing a pair of electric blue rollerblades in a style that could only be classified as break dancing—but with a striking feminine elegance under toned in the way she seemed to drift across the concrete pavement.

At first, Leo said nothing and just sat back and watched Sam perform her practiced dance until the pulsating blare of the song slowly came to a close. She finished off her routine with a polished twirl, bowing in front of him to state that her presentation was finished. Although he was trying to be stealthy, Leo couldn't help but offer her a small round of applause, nodding in approval while still remaining in the shadows.

"That was beautiful. You really seem to have your center of gravity intact when you skate. You must've trained a lot to have exceeded at this level."

Sam straightened herself up and smiled, wiping the sweat the decorated her brow. "That's what seven years of figure skating will do to you. Although, transferring the technique on to blades isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be."

"You sure made it look easy."

Sam felt her cheeks stain pink at the compliment before she rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "Well, some of my moves are still a little jerky. I've been practicing since after dinner and I have to say, I think this is something I can really get into. Although it's way different from figure skating, it brings back the routines I was so familiar with back home, you know?"

Leonardo nodded. "Like a sense of nostalgia."

"Exactly!" She exclaimed before glancing down at her skates and then back up at Leo, his presence basked in the darkness so that she could only make out the dark gleam of his eyes. "Uhm, are you familiar with jam skating?"

"No, but I'm certain I will be in about two seconds." He grinned, feeling his heart flutter ever so lightly when Sam giggled at his response.

"It's like this trendy way of break dancing, only combined with skates to make it a little bit more difficult and really cool to watch. I'm guessing it originated from roller disco, what with the two holding similar techniques and all."

"I see." Leo nodded, his eyes travelling down to Sam's roller skates. "You seem to be very skilled in the technique and form for someone who claims to be new to the sport. Very impressive, Sam."

"Thanks, Leo." She smiled, making Leo shift almost diffidently at the sound of his name passing through her lips. "You know, that was a pretty clever hint you gave me last night. About the constellations. I figured it had something to do with the zodiac."

"You should count yourself lucky. I don't go off giving my name to everyone I come across. It's an act of privacy my father taught us ever since we were young."

"Us?"

_Dammit._ Leo ground his teeth, mentally chiding himself for accidentally bringing his family into this. Why did it seem like every time he was with Sam, the words just seemed to spill from his mouth, making him act before he thought—an action he rarely acted upon. It was tremendously reckless of him and he knew if Master Splinter could see him now, he'd be staring at him with disappointment eminent in his eyes.

_She's going to know about our family anyway, _Leo thought to himself, wetting his lips before he continued to speak.

"My brothers and myself. My father believes in keeping things very cloak and dagger about our lifestyle and has distilled the practice on us for many years. You and perhaps maybe a handful of others are the only ones that know of our existence. Well, _my _existence, I should say."

"So why the sense of secrecy?" Sam asked curiously, making Leo fumble with his hands to keep occupied.

"Let's just say my father is very … overprotective."

"I know how that feels." Sam rolled her eyes. "My dad can be pretty overprotective with me. Can you believe he won't let me date until I'm eighteen? And even then I have to be _chaperoned_. How embarrassing, right?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Leo explained. "A caring father is a loving father. He just doesn't want to endure the horror of seeing his child hurt or saddened. And besides, guys can be real creeps at times. One can never be too careful."

Sam giggled softly. "You're starting to sound just like him. 'Boys are nothing but filthy horn dogs, Samantha. All they ever think about is sex and women'."

Leo's shoulders shook as he chuckled. "Well, not all guys are like that."

"You're not like that." She smiled kindly, making Leo's cheeks darken in a light blush. With a tilt of her head, she immediately changed the subject and asked her guardian angel, "Are you Italian?"

"What?" He was caught off guard by the question before Sam repeated it as if she were asking how the weather was.

"Are you Italian? The name Leonardo derives from Italy, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes, it does. But no, my father was just very interested in the Renaissance arts and named my brothers and I after famous painters of that era."

"Ah, okay." Sam nodded. "So what nationality are you guys? I-If you don't mind my asking, that is."

Leo pondered the thought, his heart racing at giving away so much information about his lifestyle and family without the blessing of his sensei. It was so very unlike him, but the blue-banded turtle found it very difficult to keep things hidden when Sam was staring up at him with her soft, evergreen eyes, making his heart thrum almost hypnotically inside his chest.

"Well, my father was raised on Japanese customs and passed them down to my brothers and myself. He taught us everything from the culture, to the history—even the language. I think I'm the only one out of my brothers though that actually shows as much interest in Japanese traditions as my father does. I think given the choice, they would probably rather stay here in America rather than visit the principled country."

"Meh, there loss." Sam shrugged her shoulders. "I would totally jump at the opportunity to visit another country – especially one like Japan. From what I've seen in pictures and books, the cherry blossoms look stunning beautiful in the spring."

"I agree." Leo nodded, his mind drifting to the thought of basking under the aforementioned _sakura_ trees in their full bloom, enjoying both the view and the look of astonishment on Sam's face as they observed the scenery together.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of his thoughts, Leo cleared his throat, immediately changing the subject. "S-So, any particular reason why you're dancing in the middle of an alleyway at this time of night?"

"I'm gonna be trying out for the Jam Skating Squad tomorrow at my school, so I'm trying to get as much practice time as I can."

"S-Should I come back another night? I don't want to distract you from your practice." He spoke with a nervous glint in his tone.

"No, you're fine. In fact…" She skated back toward her iPod Home, grabbing her music player before flipping through her library, searching for another upbeat song she hadn't practiced with yet. When her eyes locked on an old classic she hadn't heard in a while, she grinned almost impishly before she pressed play, glancing back at her guardian angel. "You can critique me on this routine. Let me know if I make any mistakes or if something doesn't look right. Okay?"

"O-Okay." He agreed, watching as Sam loosened her limbs while the sound of a haunting, loud bell rang from her speakers, making the blue-banded turtle wonder exactly what song she had picked.

The ringing reverberated for a few more seconds before the sound of creaking followed suit. As Leo stood there, racking his brain trying to figure out the almost familiar opening of the song, his eyes widened in sudden realization when the pulsing beats started to come into play.

"Michael Jackson?" He raised an almost perplexed eyebrow.

Sam smiled, nodding her head with an excited glint in her eyes. "My cousin was really into MJ back when he was in high school, so I blame him for getting me hooked on some of his songs at such a young age."

"You don't say." Leo grinned, mentally doubling over at the sight of a teenage Casey Jones prancing around in his room to the tune of the King of Pop himself. He had to remember to bring it up next time he saw the tough vigilante, but until then, he focused on the here and now, watching as Sam tapped her foot to the beat of the song, bopping her shoulders at the end of every fourth beat.

The flare of the bass guitar emulated with the pulsing tempo and Sam began to shift her body in a flow of movements that surged with the melody of 'Beat It'. As he stood there, watching her step into her own little world as Michael Jackson's singing voice began to blare through the speakers, Leo couldn't help but wish he was right there with her, joining in on the ride of self-freedom and escape he could never allow himself to enter with the weight of his duties and responsibilities holding him down. Sam truly was one of the luckier ones – holding so much sovereignty and liberation that Leo could've sworn he felt a pang of … what? Unhappiness? Resentment?

Both…?

Shunning away his thoughts and storing them in a mental box to ponder at later, Leo watched as Sam started to mouth the words to the song, her legs crisscrossing at an impressive speed, making his eyes widen in a galvanized manner. She snapped her fingers to the beat of the music, waving her arms as she dipped, spun, and even jumped before twirling around to smile up at Leo, the song only halfway finished. However, before Leo could comment on this, Sam began to speak with a flare of animation that reminded Leo of a little kid.

"So what'd you think so far? Not too sexy, right? I don't want this to turn into a scene from 'Dirty Dancing'." She giggled, taking a stab at being a little humorous.

"No, it was…" Leo paused, his normally solemn face rising into a soft smile. "It was very lady-like. I enjoyed it."

"Thank you." Sam nodded, clapping her hands and gliding toward Leo. "Alright, now it's your turn."

"My—w-what? Oh, no, I'm fine. R-Really. Besides, angels don't dance." Leo grinned almost nervously, taking a large step back with every little step Sam took toward him.

"Nice try, but you're not getting out of it that easily." Sam grinned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared into Leo's dark brown eyes with the stern essence of a grade school teacher. "C'mon, I saw that little twinkle in your eyes while you were watching me dance. I know somewhere inside of you there's a dancing queen just waiting to bust a move."

"You're not going to break out into ABBA now, are you?" Leo smiled crookedly, flinching with intimidation when Sam took another step toward him. "Sam, I-I—this isn't something I should be doing. My sen—I mean my father … I shouldn't even be here. I-I'm sorry."

"Hey, Leo, wait." She reached out her hand, feeling as though something was sinking inside her chest when she saw the silhouette of his body begin to turn around and leave. "I-I'm sorry. I just—I thought it would be fun for us to dance together, seeing that little glint in your eyes while I practiced in front of you. I … I didn't mean to try to pull you out of your comfort zone. I apologize."

"I-It's alright, Sam," Leo spoke, his voice just above a whisper as he stared down at the saddened look on Sam's face and his heart sank. He turned back around so that he was facing her, instinctively reaching out a hand to tilt her chin up so that she was looking into his dark brown eyes. However, he managed to stop himself halfway, retracting back before pursing his lips into an audacious frown. "Perhaps we can work our way around this. Do you maybe have any clothes I could borrow so that I shall remain hidden?"

Sam shook her head slowly, staring up at Leo with melancholy eyes. "No, Leo. I don't want to force you into anything that is going to make you uncomfortable. You don't have to dance if you don't want to."

"But I do want to, Sam." He smiled warmly at her, looking down at his fumbling hands before wetting his lips. "I want to experience that sense of freedom I saw you emulate in your dancing. I want to step into your world, Sam. Even just for a few moments."

"Are you sure?" She asked carefully, her heart fluttering with excitement when she saw Leo nod his head.

"More sure than I've ever been about anything."

(-)

Leo was tremendously lucky he and Casey shared almost the same size in clothing, his pants being a tad bit snug around the thigh area, but it was nothing Leo could easily ignore. As he finished wrapping around the wool scarf to cover the lower part of his face – all while adjusting the old fedora Sam stated she only ever saw Casey wear once – he spread his arms out almost shyly, waiting for Sam's two cents on the choice of attire.

"Not bad," she replied, surveying Leo up and down as she took in his presence. "Good thing we're in late August or else you'd be sweating bullets with all those layers of clothes."

"Yeah. Good thing," Leo spoke with a hint of nervousness, unbeknownst to Sam that although he wasn't warm underneath all the clothes he donned, he was still sweating bullets out of pure anxiety, being unfamiliar with having another human lay eyes on him – even if he was hidden underneath half of Casey's wardrobe. What in the world was he thinking? How the heck did he get himself into this sort of situation? If only Master Splinter could see him now. Oh, the lecture he would be given if he ever found out about the actions his eldest son was partaking in….

Leo's thoughts instantly ceased to race through his head as Sam grabbed on to his own mitten-covered hand and pulled him out of the shadows. Trying to ignore the rapid pounding in his chest, he began to notice that the weather must've risen a few degrees in temperature as he felt a warm heat graze against his cheeks. Sam seemed completely unfazed as she bent down to retrieve her iPod and started the song 'Beat It' back to the beginning.

"Alright, just loosen your limbs and clear your head," she instructed, taking a small step away from Leo to give him his space. "The thing about dancing is that it comes from you – something that you create through sheer imagination and originality. There's no rules behind it or laws or limitations. Just you and whatever movements feel right with your body. That's what makes it so exciting, Leo. Nobody can judge you on your creativity or what feels right to _you_. It's like, against the law." She laughed, glancing over at her guardian to make sure he was easing the tension out of his limbs. "Are you relaxed?"

"I-I think so. Yes." He nodded, letting out a slow breath as he shook the apprehension from his limbs.

"Good. Now, listen to the music. Let the beats and tempo carry you away into your own little sanctuary of freedom and self-expression. Just let all your worries drift away … and dance."

Leo closed his eyes gradually as he listened to the familiar rhythm of 'Beat It', allowing his foot to tap at the pulsating beats. Before Michael Jackson began to sing the first part of the song, Leo shifted his body in a stiff set of movements, his lips pursed in almost a frustrated line before he allowed himself to wind down; the routine reminding him of the movements of a well-practiced kata. He could hear Sam giggle next to him and at first he thought his dancing looked ridiculous. But when he saw that illustrious glint in her evergreen eyes, Leo couldn't help but smile as he glided across the concrete pavements in a series of spins and dips.

The two flowed together as the music seemed to carry them both into a sea of their own elation. They snapped their fingers, waved their arms, and as Leo started to become more familiar with the chorus, he jubilantly sang along with Sam, making her lips curl into a big of smile as her face could allow.

"Not bad, Twinkle Toes!" Sam laughed, swaying her body back and forth as the electric guitar began to break in. "Didn't know you had such a big bag of dance moves hidden within you."

"Neither did I!" Leo laughed, feeling a sense of overwhelming jubilation take over his body as he threw in a few of his martial arts moves into the mix, making Sam's eyes widen impressively as the song began to draw into a close.

With their hearts pounding and their chests heaving as they filled their lungs with air, soft green irises met heavy brown eyes as both Sam and Leo did nothing but stare at each other, both with matching grins on their faces.

As he wiped the sweat from his brow, Leo was the first to speak, his voice raising a couple of octaves as he tried to contain the flow of excitement that mixed in with his words. "That was incredible. I—" He laughed, placing his hand on his forehead in a blown away gesture. "—I've never felt such a rush of … of freedom. It was all so overwhelming that I thought I was going to just … float away."

Sam giggled, mimicking Leo's gesture of wiping the sweat that decorated her forehead as she smiled. "I'm glad I could help you loosen up. Now you see why I love dancing so much. It's like—art for the body."

"It truly is." Leo agreed, his smile never faltering from his face. "Thank you so much for allowing me to experience this realm with you, Sam. I—I don't believe I've ever felt this … free in years."

"You're welcome, Leonardo." Sam smiled, her attention perked when she heard the soft melody of a Coldplay song emanating from her speakers, causing her to glance over her shoulder until she felt a warm, gloved hand drape over it.

She turned around only to stare up into Leo's midnight brown eyes, a glimmer of tepid gentleness flickering in his irises as he held out his hand, bowing before her in a gentlemanly manner. "May I have this dance?"

Sam felt her cheeks stain pink as she giggled softly to herself before resting her palm atop of Leo's. Giving him a polite curtsey, she took him up on his offer and pressed her body as close to his own as she could, allowing Leo to wrap his arm around her slender waist while he used his other hand to hold on to hers.

Doing what they had done before with the first song, both Sam and Leo accepted the harmonious tempo of 'Paradise' to carry them off into a world where only they were the occupants, their feet gliding across the pavement beneath them as they swayed gracefully together. The few luminescent lights that twinkled above them cascaded a warm glow upon the two, making Sam stare into Leo's hypnotizing eyes, the thoughts of today drifting off into nothingness. Right now, it was just her and her guardian. Her protector that made her feel like nothing could break her down as long as she stayed within in the confines of his strong, powerful arms.

She turned away with a bright blush splayed across her cheeks, making Leo tilt his head with perplexed concern. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She stuttered, forcing herself to look back up into her guardian's eyes with a smile. "This is … nice. It's very … i-it's almost like—like…"

"Paradise?" Leo grinned, making Sam laugh amusingly.

"For lack of a better word, yes, it is." She paused, wetting her lips before she spoke with a nervous undertone to her voice. "Y-You're a really fine dancer, Leo."

"I had a great instructor." Her guardian flushed, separating his body from hers to let her body twirl in an elegant spiral, her hair flowing with the wind until it curtained over her shoulders.

For what seemed like hours, the two lost themselves in each other, migrating with the cadence of chiming instruments that made up the song as they performed a harmonious routine of steps, twirls, and spins. As the melody began to crawl into a leisurely end, Leo gulped down his final bit of worries and leaned his body forward, ending the dance with a graceful dip as he stared into Sam's spellbinding pools of evergreen.

The soft glow of the full moon seemed to bathe the two in luminescent warmth as Sam stared back into Leo's dark brown irises, the shadows of her cousin's fedora blanketing the features of the rest of his face. However, that didn't seem to faze her, for all she cared to marvel at was the entrancing glimmer in her guardian's eyes, making Sam feel as though time had slowed to a dangerous halt.

But she didn't mind. She didn't mind one bit….

Feeling her cheeks warm at the intensity of the dance, both Sam and Leo broke the little stare down they were having with each other with nervous gesticulations as they straightened themselves up and cleared their throats. Sam was the first to speak this time as she glanced over at Leo, who seemed to be rubbing the back of his neck frantically while staring at the ground.

"I-I should probably head back inside now." She frowned, noticing the slight sink in his shoulders.

"Y-Yeah. It's getting pretty late, isn't it?" He stuttered.

"Do you … do you want to come inside? We could maybe watch a movie together in my room. O-Or just, I don't know, talk. I-If you'd like." She blushed frantically, mentally cursing herself for acting like such a nervous schoolgirl.

Leonardo felt his lips tug into a privileged smile, feeling a sense of disappointment as he shook his head. "As lovely as that sounds, Sam, I really should be getting home myself. It is a school night after all and I don't want to come between you and your rest."

"Oh. R-Right." She kicked at an imaginary rock, her head tilted downward so that her guardian wouldn't be able to see the discontent eminent on her face.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Leo reached over and tapped the bottom of Sam's chin with his finger, flashing her a warm smile that made her heart flutter inside her chest. "Thank you for letting me step into your world, Sam. You have no idea how much this has helped me."

"Anytime." Sam smiled, her eyes widening as she glanced over her shoulder quickly. "Hold on, don't go anywhere. I'll be right back!"

Raising a curious eye ridge, Leo stood his ground, waiting patiently for Sam to return back outside. After a few minutes passed by, she raced toward him, holding out a plain, folded blue blanket.

"It's only going to get colder the later it gets, so I want you to take this. It'll keep you warm until you get back home."

Leo looked down at the blanket, feeling a sense of warm seep through his chest as he stared back at Sam. "Sam, I—won't you need it to keep warm at night?"

Sam shook her head, practically shoving the blanket into Leo's hands. "I've got like four more. And don't worry about bringing it back. I want you to have it."

"T-Thank you, Sam. That was very thoughtful of you."

Sam shrugged in a modest gesture as Leo stepped back into the shadows, stripping himself of Casey's clothes before cloaking himself in the long, toasty blanket. After folding the clothes into a neat little stack, he walked back toward Sam, handing her everything before offering her a polite bow.

"I had a wonderful time tonight."

"Me too." She blushed as Leo straightened himself back up. "Will you stop by again tomorrow night?"

"Definitely." He offered her a lopsided smile. "Maybe I'll take you up on that movie offer."

"Deal." Sam giggled, noticing that she was beginning to fumble with her hands. "Well, good night."

"Good night. _Yoi yume o_. That means sweet dreams."

Sam giggled, offering Leo a nod before she spoke. "_Yoi yume o_. Make it home safely, Leo."

"I will, Sam." He smiled warmly, stopping in his tracks when Sam lunged for him and wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug. At first, Leo felt his body stiffen, but when he realized Sam wasn't pulling away, he slowly began to wrap his arms around her, hugging her back just as tightly.

He could smell the intoxicating aroma of her scent as he nuzzled his chin on top of her head, feeling as though he were drifting off into a trance that filled his body with warmth and contentment. Sam found herself doing the same as she breathed in Leo's musky scent mixed with the smell of her blanket, feeling her heart palpitate wildly inside her chest before she finally let go, staring deep into her guardians eyes before he turned around, making sure to glance over his shoulder to get one last look at Sam. "Bye."

"Bye." She waved, letting out a breathy sigh as she watched her guardian disappear into the night….

* * *

Ahhh, the fluff. Oh all the fluffy romance in this chapter! x3 Like I said before, I REALLY enjoyed writing Leo and Sam's interactions with each other in this chapter. I can't wait for these two to progress further into their relationship! x3 It's coming up quickly, readers! I'd say about ... two more chapters until Sam and Leo meet face-to-face. As in, she gets to see him in all his turtle glory. No, not naked! That's not gonna happen for a while. Ack! Spoilers! XD Then again, what would you expect from a story that's rated M? I'm definitely not gonna end it with those two hugging. Hell no! You came here to see some _action_ and that's exactly what I'm gonna give ya! Eventually... Heheh. But until then, I think all this fluffiness will suffice. :3

Speaking of romance, I wanna comment on **SleepingSeekers** review from my last chapter. Yes, we are in fact gonna see the rest of the turtles find themselves girls of their own. :3 There is a reason I'm introducing so many OCs to my story because a few of them will be playing important roles later down the road. Now you just have to figure out who's gonna be paired up with who. ;D I ain't tellin'!

By the way, I keep forgetting to inform all you readers that I posted up pictures of Sam, Talyn, Renee, Sam's dad, and a couple of my other OCs on my wall a few days ago. If you'd like to check out what I envision everyone looking like, give it a little looksy. Until then, I'll catch you guys later! I'm gonna go curl up on the couch and enjoy my week with my family. :D Don't forget to send lots and lots of reviews and remember to...

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	10. Confessions

**Author's Note****: **I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack. ;) What is _up _my fellow readers? :D Did you miss me? 'Cuz I sure as hell missed you! XD Man, I am never leaving my laptop while I go on vacation ever again! Dx I don't know if it's just me and my weird self, but writing on notebook paper just doesn't flow as well as it would on a computer screen. I tried finishing up this chapter while I was on vacation in my notebook, but I got as far as maybe three paragraphs before I got totally frustrated and decided to wait until I got back. Which was TORTURE! Dx But, it gave me a chance to relax and enjoy time with my family and I have to say, I really a week of not having to get up and go to work. :D I really hope my family decides to something like this again next year 'cuz I thoroughly enjoyed it. :3

Alright! Lots of people to thank for reviewing for last weeks chapter. XD I wanna give a super huge thanks to **CrazyGeekyLove**, **Laurenadel story's**, **Ninjanoodles27**, **SleepingSeeker**, **adventuresstime**, **turtleformer66 **(for reviewing for both Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 :D), **Sunstar Writer**, **Lara**, and last but not least **shika93**, who gave my story a whopping FIVE REVIEWS! You absolutely ROCK, **shika93**! Thank you, thank you, thank you! x3 I'd also wanna give a big thanks to **Laurenadel story's **for all the fabulous ideas she gave me while I enjoyed my vacation and I'd also like to thank **Sunstar Writer **for giving my story a read. :3 I'm glad you're all enjoying the piece I'm working on and hope you stick with me till the end!

Also, I'd like to point out to **Sunstar Writer **that yes, I have in fact watched the Ninja Rap video back when I was in high school. It totally made me die and you're right, it should be something everyone should get to experience just because of it's pure goofiness. XD

Alright! So without further adieu, let's get on with the story! I had so much fun writing the bit with the turtles at the ending and hope it tugs at your guys' heartstrings like it did with mine. TwT Also, my deepest apologies if Mikey sounds a little OOC. He's not as loved as Leo, Raph, or Donnie seeing as I love their personalities and characters more than I like Mikey's goofiness, but that doesn't mean I totally _hate _Mikey. I love the little goofball! x3 I'm just not used to writing dialogue for him. So I apologize sincerely for that. Dx But other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own the Ninja Turtles or the rights to songs by Pitbull or Justin Timberlake.

Yeah, you read that right. A certain turtle's gonna be shaking his booty to a song one of those artist sings. Any guesses on who? ;) Guess you'll just have to read and find out!

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 9**

**Confessions**

* * *

**Wednesday Afternoon**

"Alright, let's get this party _started_!" Sam cheered, clapping her hands with enough enthusiasm as a high school cheerleader. Smiling from ear to ear, she slung her blades over her shoulder and started to take off in an excited sprint, only to have her body jerk backward in a light tug.

"Wrong way." Talyn pointed out, casually pointing in the other direction.

Sam peered over Talyn's shoulder and noticed that she was indeed correct and that the direction she was originally going was not the way to the gymnasium like she had thought it was. Chuckling sheepishly, Sam rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous gesture as her cheeks stained a very light shade of pink.

"Hehe, right. I knew that."

Talyn rolled her eyes and laughed, already with a comeback in mind. However, she was quickly cut off by a rough tug in her arm, making her nearly fall forward as Sam dragged her down the hall with the eagerness and giddy expressions of a young child dragging her parents inside a toy store.

"Come on! I wanna get their early enough to go over a few more practice routines before they start holding the auditions." Sam smiled – her ears deaf to the sound of the squeaking and screeching of Talyn's shoes as she struggled to keep up with Sam's pace.

"You know, for someone who was so unsure about whether they should try out for the team or not yesterday, you sure seem pretty fired up today, Sammie." Talyn pointed out, bringing her bag closer toward her chest so it wasn't slamming against her hip.

"What can I say? Practicing all last night really got me pumped. Let's see Renee try to deny me a spot on the team now." She grinned, a determined glint flashing in her Christmas green eyes.

"You sure your little Italian stallion Leonardoisn't any indication as to why you're so full of pomp and circumstance today?" Talyn asked, her lips curling into a devious grin.

"W-What?" Sam stammered, her cheeks tinted a dark shade of pink. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. Like I told you before, I just really like the name. There's no little 'Italian stallion' as you put it in my life right now."

"So he's a _big _Italian stallion?" Talyn cocked her eyebrow suggestively, not caring that her glasses were on the verge of slipping off her face from the constant bounce in her hurried steps.

"_Talyn_!" Sam immediately released her grip on Talyn's arm, feeling as though someone had splashed hot water in her face. As the two came to a complete stop once they reached the gymnasium, Talyn quickly adjusted her glasses and laughed, slapping Sam's shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"Relax, Sammie, I'm just messing with you. I think it's great you're so full of energy. You're like Sonic the Hedgehog on speed."

Sam chuckled amusingly at Talyn's geeky humor before placing a hand on her lower abdomen. "I am still a little nervous about trying out though. I just hope I don't fall flat on my face in the middle of my routine."

"Just don't think about it too much. The more you think about all the things that could go wrong, the more you psyche yourself out. Trust me, Sam, you're gonna do fine."

"I hope so." Sam cringed, taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly as both her and Talyn passed through the double doors that lead inside the gymnasium.

Immediately, Sam's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she took in the sight of a handful of girls performing stretches and going over a few practice routines with their skates on. While some looked like they could've used a little more time practicing their balance, others carried off a series of tricks and stunts Sam didn't know were even possible to perform on skates.

But what really set the bundle of nerves in her stomach was that nearly each and every girl in the gymnasium was rough and powerful with their moves, making them all look like Amazon warriors gliding on a set of wheels. It was enough to make Sam's stomach flip uncomfortably as she watched the competition with fear eminent in her eyes.

What the hell was she doing here? Did she honestly think someone like her – someone who just found out about the sport not even a week ago – could go up against girls who looked like they had been Jam Skating for nearly half of their existence? She wasn't a Jam Skater, she was a _figure _skater. She was used to graceful, almost ballerina-like movements that made her look like a delicate butterfly – a delicate butterfly that could easily get crushed, no _demolished _by these strong, fierce girls with their boisterous steps and authoritative movements. Who was she kidding? Even if Renee had a giant lesbian crush on her, there was no way in hell she was going to snag a spot on the team. Whether she practiced all last night or for a whole month straight, there was no way Sam could ever Jam Skate better than the betty's on blades practicing in front of her.

This was a mistake. This was a huge, gigantic, _horrifying_ mistake.

_What did I get myself into…?_

(-)

_Handful of ass, I'm trying to hold on_

_Girls gone wild, all night long_

_She had no bra and no thong_

_One more shot, baby it's on_

Leo cringed and stuck his tongue out in disgust, changing the station on Mikey's boom box to a station that he hoped played less raunchy-sounding songs. How people could listen to such vulgar music, he would never know. It seemed like the topic of sex and breakups were the key thing to making a hit song nowadays – what from all the music he had been listening to since he woke up this morning. Did well-tamed lyrics mixed in with a catchy beat just not exist on the radio anymore? After all, that's all Leo really wanted to listen to – a good song that he could maybe move around and dance to. A song he could introduce to Sam that would push them into another session of steps and rhythm – whether it be fast-paced or slow. Just them and the beat of the music with the stars winking down at them as they entered into their own little world of freedom and expression….

Leo felt his lips tug into a small smile as he grabbed the two slices of whole-wheat toast that had just popped from the toaster and set them on a folded napkin. As he reached for the butter knife, he could still feel the warm embrace of Sam's arms wrapped around his neck, his nose filled with her intoxicating scent that made his heart race wildly inside his chest. The events of the other night were truly sensations Leo had never felt before and if the blue-banded turtle wasn't currently walking on air at the moment, he'd be a little overwhelmed at the sensations he was feeling. Excited. Free. Proud. And most importantly … happy….

Absentmindedly, Leo brought his hand up to his shoulder, remembering the feeling of Sam's soft, fleece blanket he had draped over his body to keep himself both warm and hidden from her line of sight. He remembered using it to keep warm before he fell asleep and he remembered folding it neatly before setting it on the foot of his bed when he awoke to go over his early morning katas. Just the mere memories brought a smile to Leonardo's face and it quickly hit him that the remnants of last night were in fact not a dream. They had really happened. And that, alone, made Leo feel like he was on top of the world as he spread light butter on his two pieces of toasts and listened to the current song playing through Mikey's speakers.

_Don't be so quick to walk away_

_Dance with me_

_I wanna rock your body_

_Please stay_

_Dance with me_

Leo glanced up at the boom box with a raise of the eye ridge, noticing that his foot was absentmindedly tapping to the beat of the music. He knew instantly who the singer was as well as the song, seeing as Mikey tended to fill his music player with songs from hit pop artists such as this. He wondered if Sam was familiar with this tune. Most likely, seeing as he remembered this being one of the Top 40 music hits back in the early 2000's. Maybe Leo would bring it up to Sam when he saw her later tonight.

_Tonight…._ Leo thought, feeling that oh-so familiar pang in his stomach. Only this time, he relished the feeling as he continued to the listen to the unfamiliar song.

Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was in fact still alone in the kitchen, Leo cranked up the volume just a few notches and released a nervous breath. Letting the upbeat tempo of the song travel from the tips of his fingers down to the balls of his feet, he released the tension in his body and moved, imagining him and Sam dancing under the pale moonlight, sharing twin grins on their faces as sweat trickled down their bodies. He'd shift his legs and she'd sway her hips and the two of them would be lost in their own little world—a world that inhibited just the two of them as they danced on into the night….

"Not funny, Raph! I know you're the one who took my boom box, so give it back!"

Leo yelped almost like a frantic puppy as his legs tangled together and nearly made him fall flat on his shell. Immediately, he reached over to turn off the boom box, but his rushed actions caused him to nearly knock the thing into the sink, making the blue-banded turtle hiss frustratingly. By then, the song had come to a close and Leo slowly and almost painfully glanced over his shoulder, feeling his heart ram dangerously inside his chest at the rather dumbstruck look on Michelangelo's face.

"M-Morning." Leo greeted almost pathetically.

"Uhm, morning?" Mikey's confused gaze flicked from his older brother to the boom box set next to the sink. "Were you the one who took my boom box?"

"My music player died." Leo pointed out lamely, his body still hovering over said boom box.

"So you took it without asking?"

"I didn't want to wake you up."

Michelangelo raised a curious eye ridge before chuckling softly to himself and crossing his arms over his plastron. "Taking things without the owner's permission? That's not your forte, Leo. I knew it was only a matter of time before you crossed over to the dark side. What's next? Rummaging through Donnie's hentai collection on his laptop?"

"Actually, I figured I'd do that after I lose my virginity to a prostitute under the 59th Street Bridge in the Bronx," Leo retorted with a roll of his eyes, moving away from the boom box and walking past his younger brother toward the dojo.

"No glove, no love, bro. STD's are no bueno." Mikey chuckled before letting his lips tug into a devious grin. "Oh, and Leo? You might wanna work on your popping and locking before you try out for 'So You Think You Can Dance'."

"_Mikey_!" Leo growled, lunging after his brother only to have the orange-banded turtle twirl and do the Running Man out of his reach.

"Can touch this, dude! Hahaha!"

(-)

"Alright, ladies, let's huddle up! C'mon, we're burning daylight chatting about what kind of dress you're gonna wear to Homecoming. Let's hustle, hustle, hustle!" Jackie screamed, clapping her hands clamorously to grab everyone's attention as they formed a small group in the middle of the gymnasium.

Talyn immediately whipped out her Handycam before giving Sam an encouraging fist tap, allowing her to join the group of other girls while she filmed the events unfolding. Although Sam was still utterly nervous, she felt a little more at ease after going over a few practice moves for a good twenty minutes. Her legs no longer felt like jell-o and her heart slowed to only a slightly quickened pace rather than speeding at a thousand beats per second. Thinking about the events of last night helped a little too as she thought about what she would be telling Leonardo after the tryouts would end. She was determined to bring him nothing but good news and that pushed her to give it her all and wow the judges, which made Sam's lips curve into a firm grin.

As she watched Jackie skim through the clipboard she held in her hands, Sam couldn't help but notice the other jam skaters seated behind the table in front of her and the other girls – all surveying them with critiquing eyes. Not counting Jackie, there were two other judges seated behind the table: a senior with unnaturally fire red hair and a piercing on her left nostril … and Renee.

Sam nervously gulped down the lump in her throat before the sound of Jackie's authoritative, yet spunky voice echoed across the whole gymnasium and Sam immediately snapped out of her nervous reverie.

"Hello, hello, hello, ladies." Jackie grinned, her eyes skimming from girl to girl. "Welcome to tryouts. Now, before we move on to holding the auditions, let me give you all a little introduction before you decide to sell us your souls and step into our own little replica of Hell."

Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow, glancing back and forth to see if anyone else had found that statement a little on the odd side.

"My name is Jackie Colbert. If you've seen us perform before, I also tend to go by the name of Full Metal Jackie. Yep, just like the war movie. Let that be a hint to all you gals that I take practicing for our performances extremely seriously. Getting a spot on the team will be like being recruited into the military. We train hard three days a week as well as early Saturday mornings. So if any one of you chickadee's don't wanna give up your precious little beauty sleep, then do us all a favor and step out now. I don't wanna give you a spot on the team if you're not one hundred percent committed to what we do and what we strive for. So, anyone thinking of backing out?"

Sam glanced over her shoulder and scanned the group, noticing that not a single girl had gotten second thoughts and got up to leave. After Jackie had noticed this as well, her lips formed into a lopsided grin before she brought up her clipboard.

"Excellent. Alright, here's how we're gonna do this, ladies. These are my co-captains, Ashleigh Summers and Renee de la Rosa. What they're gonna do is play some songs on that boom box right there"—she pointed at said boom box set on the judges table—"while you girls jam and show us what you got. When I blow my whistle, the girl I call up will begin her routine and show us her stuff while de la Rosa and Summers judge her on her balance, coordination, and ability to freestyle. When I blow my whistle again, that girl will stop and move on for the next girl to bust a move. When everybody has had a chance to show us their skills, we'll discuss our decision in a group huddle while everyone waits in the hallway. After we've come to a conclusion, we'll call everyone back in and announce our newest jam skaters. Does that make sense to everyone?"

A series of nods answered Jackie's question before she smiled jubilantly and clapped her hands together. "Alright, so let's get started! Ashleigh, will you be a dear and pump up the jams?"

The redheaded girl nodded and smiled as she cranked up the volume as loud as the boom box would allow it to go, filling the gymnasium with a pulsing dubstep beat that made Sam's heart race with excitement. While Jackie glanced down at her clipboard, she brought her whistle to her lips and blew on it forcefully, catching everyone's attention. "Brittney MacGowen, you're up!"

Sam stood back with the other girls and watched as Jackie went down through the list of names on her clipboard while she and the two co-captains studied the competition. While Ashleigh and Jackie weren't very good with their poker faces – giving away obvious hints when they liked a girl's moves by flashing them impressed smiles or providing them words of encouragement when their turn had ended – Renee was quite the mystery girl when it came to what she liked and what she didn't like. After watching the fifth girl perform, Sam noticed Renee still hadn't even cracked a smile or a frown since the auditions started as she jotted something down on the piece of paper in front of her, leaning back and whispering something in Ashleigh's ear. For some reason, the action made Sam all the more nervous and she nearly jumped a foot in the air when the whistle blew clamorously through the gymnasium.

"Samantha Jones, you're next, hon!" Jackie called out, making Sam's heart palpitate furiously inside her chest. With a nervous gulp, she skated toward the middle of the gym, feeling a handful of eyes staring judgingly at her; making her hands shake apprehensively. As she glanced over from Jackie, to Ashleigh, to Renee, she could hear the sound of her heart _thu-thump_-ingdeafeningly inside her eardrums, making it difficult to hear the tempo of the music blasting through the speakers and Sam instantly started to panic.

What was she going to do? What the hell was she going to do! How can she dance in perfect rhythm if she couldn't even hear the song that was playing? What in the hell was she thinking? She shouldn't have come. She shouldn't even be here!

_Just let all your worries drift away … and dance…._

Sam's eyes instantly snapped open, not even realizing she had them closed in the first place. Those words … they were _her _words—her own advice, but they didn't emulate to the sound of her own voice. Instead, they carried off the same tone as Leonardo's voice, his words soft and gentle as she imagined him flashing her an encouraging smile, nodding his head in a silent offering of good luck.

The high-pitched blare of Jackie's whistle snapped Sam out of her trance as she shook her head and pursed her lips into a thin line. She had told herself earlier that she was determined to bring nothing but good news to her guardian angel and that's exactly what she was going to do—no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Curling her fingers into tight fists, Sam snapped her fingers and tapped her foot to the beat of the music, pushing her body forward before dipping down and coming back up in a popping motion as she swayed her hips and let the music flow through her veins. She glided on the wheels of her electric blue blades, spinning in a series of blurred twirls and adding a few moves she had learned from figure skating, such as a Salchow jump, a Toe Loop, and even an Inside Axel. When she noticed she hadn't fallen on her face yet, Sam mentally patted herself on the back, hearing the sound of Jackie's whistle echo through her ears before she ceased her little jam session, managing to land one more jump before she glided to a stop, flashing all three judges a jubilant smile.

"Thank you for your demonstration, Samantha. I look forward to hopefully seeing more." Ashleigh winked, her teeth flashing in a gleeful smile, which made Sam mentally squeal with excitement.

"You may join the others while we finish up with the other girls, Sam," Jackie informed, tapping Sam's arm as she skated past her and offering her a bright smile. "I knew you had potential, Sammie-girl. Banging performance."

"Thanks." Sam beamed.

_And thank you, Leo…._

(-)

"Alright, ladies, we're down to the final results." Jackie smirked, her hands placed proudly on her hips as she scanned the nervous faces before her. "Now after much, much, much, _much_ consideration, I think my co-captains and I finally reached a verdict and narrowed it down to three lucky ladies. Each of us will call one girl who made the squad. As for the rest of you, we greatly appreciate you all taking the time and effort to show us your moves and wish you better luck next year."

Sam gulped anxiously, feeling Talyn lightly tap her on the shoulder to offer her hand. Sam smiled meekly and accepted it, squeezing the life out of her friend's palm like a pregnant woman trying to push out her newborn baby. If Talyn was in pain, she did a damn good job not showing it as both Ashleigh and Renee left their seats to stand next to Jackie, ready to announce the newest members of the squad.

"Alright!" Jackie started. "The first person we'd like to congratulate and welcome to the squad is … Sara Silverstein!"

A short, almost mousy-looking girl with dirty blond hair doubled over in shock before letting out a surprised cheer as she turned around and hugged the two girls that surrounded her while the gymnasium filled with congratulatory applause. Sam smiled, knowing that that girl was going to be accepted into the squad after watching her pop and lock with the skill of b-girl choreographer. As she watched Sara glide toward Jackie and the others to thank them for accepting her onto their team, Jackie shook her hand and motioned for her to stand next to her while Ashleigh surveyed the crowd and grinned before speaking.

"The next girl we're going to call is … Marissa Amurao!"

A slim, Filipino girl with even thicker glasses than Talyn squealed with delight, turning toward the audience and bowing respectfully as she awarded them with thank you's. Sam could feel her spastic heart thrumming violently in her chest and Talyn gave her hand a small squeeze before flashing her a comforting smile. It helped calm Sam down a little bit, but the feeling only lasted a good couple of seconds before her eyes glued to Renee de la Rosa – the last girl to call up the third member of the squad.

"And finally, our third newest jam skater will be…" She glanced back from girl to girl, her audacious poker face making Sam feel like she was going to die of a heart attack right then and there from too much anticipation. Feeling herself bite down on her lower lip, the tension in her shoulders only tightened when Renee's lips finally tugged into the smallest of grins Sam had ever seen.

"…Samantha Jones."

At that moment, time felt as though it had crawled into a complete stop, making Sam feel as though she were the only one capable of movement and she couldn't even bat a single eyelash. Had she heard Renee correctly? Did she just call her name? _Her _name? So … did that mean—t-that meant she was….

"You made it! You made the squad!" Talyn cheered, shaking Sam's shoulder violently to snap her out of her powerful trance. Not knowing what to do, she looked up at Talyn and then back at Jackie and her co-captains, hearing the clamorous round of applause coming from the other girls who had tried out for the squad but weren't bestowed the honor of one of the three newest jam skaters.

She did it. She made the team!

As Sam rushed over to stand next to the other two girls who had gotten picked, Jackie clapped her hands together and took a step forward, her eyes flicking back and forth at all the other girls who hadn't made the cut. "Thank you all again for showing us your wonderful talents and kickass moves. Although you didn't get picked, that doesn't exclude you for trying out again next year. We look forward to seeing you all again and hopefully you'll be joining these three lucky ladies right here. Everyone make it home safely and better luck next time."

Sam couldn't help the beaming smile on her face growing wider as she watched Talyn close the LCD screen on her Handycam and rush to her side, squealing like a spastic fangirl. "I _told_ you you'd make the squad, Sammie-girl! I _told _you! And to think, you doubted my wicked awesome foresight. Talyn 'The Psychic' Gray is never wrong!"

Sam could only giggle in response – her brain too busy processing all the excitement that she couldn't think of any words to say at the moment. As she watched the other girls exit the gymnasium, she felt a light tap on her shoulder that caught her attention, making Sam's eyes widen a fraction of an inch when she realized it was Renee who was standing right behind her.

"Congratulations, newbie," said Renee, providing Sam with the tiniest of smiles. "Jackie wasn't wrong. You really do know how to work those blades pretty well."

"T-Thank you," Sam stuttered, fumbling with her fingers. "I-I practiced till like midnight last night and some more before tryouts."

"Well all that practicing really paid off," Renee pointed out, going back to hiding behind her poker face. "Jackie wasn't kidding when she said joining the squad is like signing up for the military. Our practices can get pretty intense and if you don't pick up the routine right away, things can get mighty ugly. There's a reason we picked you three girls. You all show a sense of strength and determination that's a key factor to have when dealing with us…" She paused, her lips curling into a devious little smirk. "…Especially me."

Sam felt her body tense as she watched Renee sling her bag over her shoulder before turning away, glancing back to say one last thing. "Welcome to Hell, Samantha Jones. I'll see you at practice Friday after school."

And with that, she exited the gymnasium, leaving Sam frozen where she stood with absolutely nothing to say.

* * *

**Wednesday Night**

"It's a girl, ain't it?"

Leo surveyed the people below him before raising a questioning eye ridge and shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. For one, that person's muscle tone is way too burly for it to belong to a woman and—"

"—Not that, dumbass." Raphael spat, his arms crossed over his plastron before his lips tugged into a devious grin. "I'm talkin' 'bout the reason why yer always sneakin' off and being so goddamn secretive about it. Yer ass is getting' laid, ain't it? And that's why you ain't tellin' us shit 'cuz it goes against yer precious little honor. Am I right?"

"That's absurd even for you, Raphael," Leo pointed out dryly, his eyes narrowed in a soft glare before he turned his attention back at the passing bystanders. "Where I go every night is my business. I don't have to inform you guys about every little detail in my life, you know."

"It's called showing concern, Leo." Donnie indicated, leaning slightly over his bo staff while Mikey twirled his nunchucks absentmindedly.

"Yeah, and curiosity. For one, I'm still trying to figure out whether Raph's theory is true after I saw that blanket folded on the foot of your bed."

"You went into my room?" Leo spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the orange-banded turtle in front of him.

"Blanket?" Donnie raised a quizzical eye ridge. "What blanket?"

"The blanket Leo came home with last night. It's really soft and smells like cinnamon and apples. Really nice." Mikey smiled, remembering bringing the blanket up to his beak and taking a nice long whiff of the intoxicating aroma.

"Is that so?" Raph asked with a raise of the eye ridge, his lips curved into a curious smirk.

Leo – keeping his poker face up – shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "What? I found a blanket on my way back and it was cold, so I decided to take it."

"Bullshit. I find stuff all the time, but ya don't see me pickin' up used condoms and shit just 'cuz I found them on my way back home."

"Me thinks the turtle doest protest too much," Mikey said with a grin, making Leo's heart race nervously inside his chest and he began to feel claustrophobic with his brothers crowding near him with curiosity eminent in their eyes.

"C'mon, Fearless, spill."

"Just tell us, Leo," Donnie urged – his tone gentle and almost pleading. "Stop keeping us in the dark and just tell us where you've been running off to for the past couple of days."

"Yeah, bro. Tell us." Mikey piped up, making Leo shut his eyes and tighten his fists as he forced himself to face the ground before he let out a shaky breath and let his words spill from his lips.

"I-I got it from Sam, okay?" He spoke just above a whisper, feeling a sharp stab of guilt at the few seconds of silence that separated him from his brothers.

Donatello was the first to break the silence. "Sam?"

"Ya mean Casey's cousin?" Raph asked. Leo answered with a slow nod of the head, his shoulders tensing at the sudden rise in volume of Michelangelo's voice.

"I knew it! I knew that blanket had to be from a girl!" He cried, stopping for a moment while he pondered the newfound information. "Wait a minute, so all this time you've been sneaking off to go see Casey's cousin?"

"Yes," Leo admitted, his attention still focused on the ground beneath him. "Casey voiced his concerns to me while I was out getting some air about how he's worried that if Sam were to ever find out about his vigilante lifestyle, it would give her a reason to follow in his footsteps and put her life at greater risks. Because of this, he entrusted me to look out for her in case she runs into trouble and I've been watching over her ever since."

"And you kept this from us, why?" Donnie asked, raising a curious eye ridge before Leo spoke.

"I figured you guys would see it as me being hypocritical," Leo admitted, daring to look up into the eyes of his brothers.

"Has she seen yer face? What you really look like without blendin' in with the shadows?" Raph asked, his arms crossed over his plastron in almost an authoritative stance – a stance very uncharacteristic for the red-banded turtle.

"I've never fully revealed myself to Sam because I still want to abide by Casey's rules," Leo informed, wetting his lips before speaking again. "But she does know certain things about me such as my name and the Japanese customs we follow. She's also aware that I have brothers."

"Dude, you're making it really hard not to be seen as someone who totally went back on their word and did exactly what you told _us _not to do," Michelangelo pointed out while Don pinched the area between his eyes in frustration.

"Leo, you understand what you're doing is beyond risky, right? I understand Casey provided you with his blessing, but you can easily watch over Sam without having to interact with her. You're a goddamn ninja for Pete's sake!"

"I know, I know…" Leo cringed, feeling the tension in his shoulders pinch his nerves almost painfully. "It's just—when I'm with her, i-it's almost like she knocks down the shields I hold up and enters without me even realizing it. When I'm with her, I feel both strong and weak at the same time. When I'm around her, it's like a fog clouds my better judgment and all the secrets I have stored away are unlocked and released into the open. It's dangerous to be around someone who wills such actions but … but I can't seem to stay away…."

"Sounds like Leo has himself a _cruuuush_," Michelangelo grinned, doubling over in laughter while Leo's cheeks flushed a bright red.

"I do not have a crush, Mikey," he growled, feeling Raph slap a hand on the back of his shell.

"Didn't know you had it in ya, Casanova."

"Shut up," Leo snarled.

"So what's going to happen when she sees you in all your mutant, green, turtle glory?" Don asked almost acidly, making Leo stare up at him almost blankly while the purple-banded turtle crossed his arms over his plastron. "Humans never willingly accept us for what we are, Leo. They either scream and run in terror or pull out a weapon and try to beat the crap out of us. You've implanted this godly mental image inside Sam's head, making her think you're some kind of heroic guardian angel sought out to protect her. Well what do you think is going to happen when she finally sees her savior step out of the shadows, huh? Is she still going to treat you the same?"

"Well, she _is_ Casey's cousin," Mikey pointed out. "I mean, it's not like she's gonna wanna kill us because we're not exactly … normal."

"She might not. But whatever Leo thinks he's trying to develop between him and Sam, I can tell you now there's no way in hell it's going to happen," Don snarled lightly, making Leo's chest tighten almost hurtfully. "You're the leader, Leo. You're supposed to lead by example and running off every night like this is not how a leader should act. What the hell do you think is going to happen between you two anyway? Different species don't interact intimately with each other because that's just it—they're _different_. That's why we stick to fantasies and daydreams, because it's the closest thing we're ever going to get when it comes to intimacy. No human is going to want us in _that way _and it's just another fact of life we're going to have to deal with."

"Hey, Donnie, calm down, will ya?" Raph asked, reaching a hand toward his younger brother before Donatello yanked his arm away from the red-banded turtle's reach. Silence carried off between the four brothers as almost sad, light brown eyes bore into darker brown irises before Don wet his lips and spoke in an even tone.

"A leader leads by example, Leonardo. Whatever you do, we wind up following you. Please don't travel down this path of false hope, because you're only going to find nothing but pain and disappointment at the end of the tunnel. Trust me, Leo … because I've been down that path…."

The blue-banded turtle new exactly what his brother was referring to, because for a brief moment, it made Donatello untrusting toward humans. Before Casey came into their lives, the brainy turtle had a crush on April, thinking that her acceptance toward their appearances was a sign that maybe—just maybe there was hope that they would all find love one day. But the deeper Donatello spiraled into love and adoration, it all shattered in an instant when the girl he thought would one day be the love of his life fell into the arms of another man, leaving Donnie both saddened and utterly heartbroken. For a few days, he didn't come out of his room – not even to tinker with his inventions in the comfort of his lab. It pained his brothers to see him like this and Leonardo vowed that he would do everything in his power to prevent such occurrences to never befall on his brothers again.

However, little did he know that he had found himself following his younger brother's footsteps and the mere thought of him and Sam losing that sense of closeness that was starting to develop since the moment they gazed into each other's eyes underneath the pale moonlight was enough to make Leo's heart break into the smallest of cracks.

_Will you stop by again tomorrow night?_

_Definitely. Maybe I'll take you up on that movie offer._

_Deal._

"Leo?" Michelangelo's concerned voice broke the blue-banded turtle out of his reverie, making him glance over his shoulder before staring off into the night.

"I … I need some time to think. I'll meet you guys back at the lair in a few hours…."

"Leo, I—" Donnie started, but his sentence was cut off when Raph laid a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small shake of the head before letting his hand fall to his side. Understanding the silent gesture, Donatello glanced back at his older brother before turning his back on him, watching as Raph was already scaling down the fire escape and Mikey was following close by.

_Be safe, Leo, _Don mused sadly, disappearing into the night while Leo shut his eyes and let the gentle breeze graze his face in silence….

* * *

Poor, Donnie! TwT And poor Leo! Dx I figured I'd throw a little sad moment in their since you guys got a taste of cutesy fluff in the last chapter. This was also kind of my little intake on how the 2k12 Donnie would feel after April falls in love with Casey. The creator's are _so _evil for doing that! Making Donnie have this simply ADORABLE little crush on April, teasing us viewers when we KNOW April's gonna one day crush his heart and leave him for the tough vigilante, Casey Jones. I'm both dreading and awaiting that dramatic episode in Season 2. Eek! x3 Haha!

Before I forget, since Renee was in this chapter, I'd like to point out **Sunset Writer**'s review. I find it really funny that you and that girl had a similar situation that Sam and Renee share. I don't know if this really counts as spoilers, but later down the road, we are going to see the two develop a sort of sisterly relationship. Basically, the two get along like Leo and Raph and writing the interactions between those two is going to be a lot of fun seeing as I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE writing dialogue between Leo and Raph. XD Also, I'm interested to hear your predictions, **turtleformer66** about which human you think is going to get with which turtle. :) I will give you all this one hint though ... Jackie Colbert is NOT one of the girls I have planned to pair up with any of the turtles. So there, that narrows down the list a little bit. ;)

Alright, it's past midnight and I have to be up at the ass crack of dawn to get ready for work, so I'll end the little disclaimer right here. :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and get yourselves ready for Chapter 10. I'm predicting there's gonna be a lot of action and we also get to see Leo very, very furious... ;) So be ready for that, readers! And don't forget to leave more fabulous reviews to fill my already overly large ego! XD See you all next time!

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	11. Angel's Fury

**Author's Note****: **Wiggity _whaaaaaaaaaat_? Another chapter when I _just _posted the last chapter not even 48 hours ago? This has got to be a new record for me. :D What can I say, this chapter basically just wrote itself. I'm actually surprised with a lot of the dialogue in this chapter. I'm warning you now, readers, there is A LOT of language in this chapter. But then again, this story's rated M, so what do you expect? :P Heheh. I'm not sure if something like this is going to happen again where I post another chapter, say, tomorrow or whatever, but I do want to post _one more _chapter before Sunday night because Monday morning, my ass starts school again and my first class Monday morning is at 7-friggin-30. Dx So yeah, I'll try my best, but like I did with Chapter 7, I'm not making any promises just in case I don't wind up finishing the next chapter by Sunday night. We'll just have to wait and see. :)

Alright! Let's get on with the thank you's. :) Thank you so much for reviewing, **CrazyGeekyLove**, **SleepingSeeker**, **adventuresstime**, and **Eminul**. I also wanna give a shout out to **CrazyGeekyLove **for giving a shout out to me in one of her newest stories, "Sleepless in the Sewers". Can't wait to see how your story develops, dude. :D I also wanna give a big thanks to **SleepingSeeker **for suggesting that song to me. Really wish I would've known about it before I wrote Donnie's bit in yesterday's chapter, but, oh well. It did help me write Leo's bit toward the middle though, so kudos for that! :D

Okie dokie! So without further adieu, here's the next chapter to "The Waiting Ones". Hope you all like it! ;)

**Disclaimer****: **Don't own TMNT. Plain and simple. :P Quit making me remind myself of that disappointing fact! Dx

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 10**

**Angel's Fury  
**

* * *

**Wednesday Night**

"Oh, God…. Do I _seriously _look like that when I pop and lock?" Sam asked in horror, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment when she heard a chorus of laughter from Talyn and her other teammates.

"Oh, come on, Sammie, you don't look retarded," said Talyn encouragingly, pausing the video on her laptop before letting her fingers fly over the keys to save everything and exit the browser. "Besides, you made the team. Who cares what your audition routine looked like?"

Jackie slapped a heartening palm against Sam's making, providing her with a bright smile while she vacuumed up the last bit of her soda. "Don't worry, Sammie-girl. After a few practice sessions, you'll look like a total freak on the dance floor. But a cool freak. Trust me." She winked, making Sam smile before she took another bite from her slice of mushroom and olive pizza.

"So you're the new chick who totally pwned de la Rosa in the cafeteria yesterday, right?" Ashleigh asked with a powerful grin that really accentuated her pearly whites. Sam hadn't even noticed that she carried off a very strong Jersey accent and it fit with her whole punk rock persona.

"Oh, I heard about that!" cried Vanessa, the only black girl who was on the Jam Skating Squad. She reached over the long table they were all sharing and offered her a fist, which Sam tapped lightly with her own fist so as not to be rude and leave her hanging. "You've got spunk, girl. _So _wish I could've been there to see the look on Renee's face."

Sam's eyes flicked back and forth questioningly before asking, "I take it not many of you are very fond of Renee?"

"That's the understatement of the year." Jackie rolled her eyes, bumping fists with Talyn the moment the hipster chick brought up her hand.

"I mean, she can be nice at times, but she's a _royal _bitch when it comes to practice," said Vanessa, emphasizing on the word 'royal' to validate her point. "She's like the Hitler of jam skating. Everything has to be absolutely perfect and if it isn't, she'll brutally call you out on it. You know that scar she has on her upper-right cheek?"

Sam paused for a moment to think back and study what she remembered of Renee's face. Now that she thought about it, she did notice that she had a faint scar just an inch and a half below her eye. The sudden realization must've been eminent on her face because without confirming anything, Vanessa continued to talk.

"I heard that her dad nicked her with a kitchen knife when she was little because she brought home bad grades or something. That's why she's always on everyone's ass about being perfect and getting things right right away."

"R-Really?" Sam's eyes widened, her attention now focused on Ashleigh, who was nodding her head slowly.

"I heard her brother got sent to the hospital about a month ago after her dad got drunk and started beating the shit out of him when he got back from work. Apparently Renee had to drive him because her dad nearly dislocated his shoulder."

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that," said Marissa – the Filipino girl who had also made the team along with Sam. "Renee didn't come to school for like a week almost."

"B-But why? I-I mean, why would Renee and her family put up with such violence like that in their own home? Aren't there shelters they can go to? Can't her mom file for divorce or even child abuse?" Sam asked, her tone carrying off a weight of worry that made her feel like every breath she took was labored. How could a father ever hurt his own children like that? If her dad ever so much as laid his hands on her like that…. She didn't even want to think about it.

"Apparently her mom came to this country from Mexico illegally," said Hannah, a girl with almost vampire-pale skin and a midnight black faux hawk that made her look sexy chic. "She's one of the cleaning ladies at the hotel my mom works at. Apparently she works like three jobs because Renee's dad blows all his money on booze and cigarettes. Her brother works at some auto shop in Brooklyn and Renee stays home to watch her little brother and sister."

"Is that why she didn't join us tonight?" Sam asked, the saddened tone still eminent in her voice.

Jackie shrugged. "It wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway. Renee likes to keep herself very closed off from other people."

_Well who could blame her? _Sam thought. If her family life was as fucked up as everyone made it seem for Renee, she wouldn't want to be around other people either. Sam could only imagine how torturous it must be for her – always wondering what other people were saying about her, constantly feeling at least one pair of eyes staring behind Renee's back with both remorse and pity—like she was a fool to not just pack her things and run away from all the drama and abuse. But how could anyone just pack up their life and leave? Sam knew she couldn't, even if her dad was an abusive drunk. She couldn't just abandon her mom and her brothers and sister. It would be a cowardly thing to do and Sam knew Renee would never forgive herself for turning her back on them and cutting the strings that held them all together, just as she would feel the same, leaving Renee forced to choose the only other option she had:

Just suck it up and deal with it….

(-)

Leonardo noticed that the metal platform of the fire escape beneath him was particularly cold tonight, making him feel as though his feet had frozen over said platform and kept him rooted where he stood. As the tender graze of the wind brushed his cheeks and made the tails of his mask flap imperceptibly, Leo let out a melancholy sigh, his eyes never tearing away from Sam's window just two flights above him.

What the hell was he doing here? After all, Don had been right about Leo kidding himself with whatever was forming between him and Sam. He had been a fool from the beginning – letting it progress from just a simple overlooking guardianship to a bond Leo only wanted to grow stronger. He had gotten a taste of what it was like to let his guard down – even just for a moment – and allowed an outsider to enter into his little space he kept reserved for only his brothers, his sensei, and Casey and April. Sam had introduced him to a world where it was okay to lower one's shields and forget the burdens Leo was always forced to carry wherever he went—no matter what. He longed for that sense of freedom only Sam could provide him with, but it was taboo in the eyes of his family—completely dishonorable and _wrong _and if Leo continued to let himself spiral deeper and deeper into the dark rabbit hole of such indisputable longing he'd … he'd…

…He didn't want to think about it. About the pain—the unfathomably veracious wash of pain and heartache he had witnessed Donatello go through, the memories slamming back into Leo's subconscious like a ton of bricks. The sleepless nights … the rejection of meals … the fact that his brother had completely isolated himself from his entire family for _days _because he felt so … unwanted … rejected … discarded like yesterday's trash and for what? Allowing himself to let his heart yearn for what it wanted…?

To Leo, Donnie wasn't the only one that had suffered that unforgettable night. April's rejection had not only opened his brother's eyes, but all of their eyes, making them slam into that unbreakable wall that was reality. They talked like humans, walked like humans, and could even love and hurt like humans could—but the fact of the matter was Leo and his brothers were just way too different. Humans would never be able to provide them with the kind of love and affection they so desperately wanted. Had it not been for the mutagen that made them what they were today, Leo and his brothers would just be regular turtles swimming in the ocean and finding female turtles to mate and court with. But Leo and his brothers _weren't _regular turtles. There mutation allowed them to find attraction and beauty in the human women they saw walking amongst the city … but the horrible truth of the matter was it took two to tango.

Their hearts yearned for love … but the love they provided would never be receptive.

Ever….

Pinching the bridge between his eyes, Leo fought with the powerful urge to just go home and forget about seeing Sam tonight. He felt a constant stab of guilt whenever the thought of Sam eagerly waiting by her window crossed his mind and it was that little tidbit that fueled the everlasting battle inside Leo's head. If he stayed, he would only be adding salt to the ever-present wounds that would only run deeper the longer he kept this up. But if he left, he would only be disappointing Sam, giving her the sense that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

_It's for the best… _Leo thought dejectedly as he turned his back on Sam's window and decided to just head back to the lair to spend the rest of the night sulking until sleep carried him away. However, before Leo was able to take one step further, the sound of a door slamming and frantic footsteps clamping down the sidewalk caught his attention, making the blue-banded turtle glance over his shoulder to see what all the commotion was about.

"—I'm gonna drive down Lexington Avenue. That's where she said she was before she got on the bus—"

_Casey? _Leo raised a quizzical eye ridge, leaning over the railing and watching the distraught vigilante fumble with his keys.

"I trying to calm down, babe, but she should've been home half an hour ago. It's late and she's not answering her cell so of course the first thing I'm gonna do is panic." He cradled his cell between his shoulder and his ear as he shakily unlocked the driver's door. "Just call me if Sam comes home before I do, okay? I'll do the same if I find her on my way down Lexington…. Love you too…. Bye."

The sound of Casey slamming his car door shut instantly broke Leo out of his reverie and he could already feel his heart ramming inside his chest in panic. Sam wasn't home? And she wasn't answering her phone? What time was it anyway? It was already too dark to be travelling down the streets of New York alone and Leo's brain automatically entered into a series of flashes of all things that could go wrong to Sam if she wasn't careful. He had to go look for her too. Although Casey had a car, Leo could easily cover more ground on foot without the chances of getting caught in traffic. He didn't want to chance losing any more seconds of just standing around when the possibility of Sam being in danger grew more and more hauntingly realistic.

Moving away from the railing of the fire escape, Leo climbed up the few flights of stairs before taking to the rooftops, jetting out into a swift run and making sure to scan the streets beneath him closely. Where had Casey said she was last? Lexington Avenue?

Leo's teeth gnashed together in panicking snarl. That was extremely close to Central Park and at this time of night, there were surely creeps and weirdoes mucking up the streets just waiting for the next innocent bystanders to cross their path.

Feeling his inside twist uncomfortably at the horrific image, Leo picked up the pace and launched himself into the air, landing swiftly on top of the nearest building before making a sharp right turn.

_Don't worry, Sam. I'm coming…._

(-)

She hated the city. Absolutely without a doubt _hated _the city.

Sam glanced behind her shoulder for the seventh time that night, hugging herself tighter to keep herself from freezing to death. _Why _did she get herself into this situation? _Why _did she have to be such a _retard_? If she hadn't been such a polite dumbass, she would've taken up Jackie's offer and rode with her and Talyn back home, seeing as the two apparently lived just a few blocks from Casey and April's apartment. But _no_, she didn't want to be a burden and figured she'd make it home okay by taking the bus. However, what Sam seemed to forget was that she still wasn't familiar with the streets, having only lived in the city for a span of five days, so of course it didn't take her long before she found herself totally lost. And what made matters worse was that her phone died on her, leaving Sam without a phone to call her cousin to come pick her up or a navigation app to help her figure out where she was at.

_Great. Just great…._

Looking up at the street signs above her, Sam desperately tried racking her brain for any sense of familiarity to the streets she was currently walking through. She didn't remember ever going down Madison Avenue or East 83rd Street and the disappointing fact nearly brought her to frustrated tears.

"Fuck my life." She groaned. "Fuck my life with a spiked dildo…."

The hairs on her neck instantly stood at attention when Sam heard laughter from across the street and she could already feel her heart quicken in pace. Folding her arms tighter over her chest, she noticed what looked like three gang members laughing and cursing and lighting up their cigarettes, making Sam sneer in disgust at the repulsive action.

Not wanting to have the smell of cigarette smoke assault her nostrils, Sam waited until the goons were out of sight until she crossed the street, leaving her to continue wandering aimlessly around the streets of Manhattan until she magically found her way back home. However, the thought was instantly abandoned when Sam squinted her eyes and focused on the almost recognizable lighter one of the gang members had in his hand.

Dark maroon? With the initials … C.M.J…!

_Christopher Michael Jones … Dad!_

Curling her hands into tight fists, Sam could feel a wash of anger spread from the tips of her fingers down to the ends of her toes. Those were the same punks who nearly killed her dad—who left him bleeding in the streets on the verge of death! And they thought they could just carry on with their business like it was nothing? Fuck no. Fuck. No. Not on her watch….

Glancing back and forth to make sure no cars were coming, Sam quickly jogged across the street – making sure the Purple Dragon punks weren't aware that she was hot on their tails. Feeling her teeth gnash in a furious snarl, she racked her brain with ideas before she noticed they had just passed an alleyway that separated two apartment buildings and her lips tugged into a devious little smirk.

Before her common sense screamed at her to turn around and see if any of the convenience stores she passed by would let her use their phone to call up her cousin, Sam hurriedly sprinted down the sidewalk, pressing her body against the wall of one of the apartment buildings before she peeked around to make sure the Purple Dragons were within close proximity.

She glanced down and smiled when she spotted a rock big enough to get one of the Dragon's attention. Picking it up, she peeked back around the building and without a moment's hesitation, she threw it, hitting the Purple Dragon with the short, spiked Mohawk right against the back of his head, making him turn around in a furious huff.

"What the fuck?" The Dragon growled, rubbing the back of his head to dull the pain. "Who the fuck threw that!"

This time, without peeking around the corner, Sam chucked another rock before travelling deeper into the alleyway, letting the shadows engulf her like an invisibility cloak. Hearing the rough steps of the three Purple Dragons coming her way, she crouched down and waited, her heart thrumming boisterously through her eardrums.

The Purple Dragons scanned the darkened alleyway for any sign of the person who was throwing rocks at them. With similar sneers on their faces, they stepped further into the shadows, letting their eyes adjust before pulling out their weapons of choice. The Dragon with the purple-tipped Mohawk was the first to break the silence between the three of them.

"Show yourself, you fucking coward!" He screamed, the blade of his machete glistening in the very faint light of the streetlights outside the alleyway.

Gulping down any ounce of fear she had left, Sam picked up the biggest rock she could find and chucked it straight at the Dragon's head, knocking him off balance for a mere two seconds. Acting quickly, she emerged from the shadows and ran, channeling all the force and anger she held inside into her arms before she swung, connecting the broken piece of plywood she held straight into the aforementioned Dragon's face.

Like a tree that had been chopped down by a lumberjack, the Purple Dragon timbered straight onto the hard concrete and was down for the count, leaving his two lackeys staring horrifically at the scene that had just unfolded right before their eyes. With a harsh sneer, Sam pointed the piece of plywood at the Purple Dragon she had just taken down and spat with enough venom in her words that would cut through even the toughest man's gallantry.

"That was for my father, you motherfucking piece of—_shit_!"

Hearing the faint whirling of chains from behind her, Sam quickly ducked before the Dragon with the greasy bowl cut was able to hit her, a maniacal grin spread across his dirty face. With her adrenaline making her act on impulse, Sam immediately swung the broken piece of plywood she held in her hands right at the Purple Dragon's stomach, making him double over breathlessly as he fell to his knees. Not wanting to stay even a second longer, Sam dropped the plywood and made a dash out of the alleyway, her shoes slamming hard against the concrete pavement beneath her as she breathed in shaky, quick breaths. However, before Sam could even make it three feet away from the Dragons, she felt a big, beefy hand wrap around her wrist, tugging her violently backwards with enough force to nearly dislocate her shoulder.

"Where do you think yer goin', princess?" The largest Purple Dragon of the bunch asked, his tone mocking and low as the Dragon Sam had attacked first picked himself up from the ground, his nose gushing waterfalls of blood.

"Bring the bitch back here, Komodo." Ordered the leader, wiping away the blood that was dripping from his nose. The large Dragon obeyed, picking Sam up with ease while she thrashed and kicked her legs, desperately trying to break free from her captive's large, beefy arms.

When her feet finally touched the ground again, Sam was forcibly pushed against the graffiti-covered wall behind her, her head nearly connecting with the rough brick blockade. She opened her eyes, not even realizing they were shut and felt herself trapped as the Purple Dragon with the bloody nose barricaded her with his hands pressed against the wall and his arms hovering over Sam's shoulders.

Her body shook fearfully as she saw the Dragon's mouth split into a big toothy grin, the blood from his nose seeping into the splits of his teeth.

"You've got alotta spunk doin' what you just did, ya little bitch," the Purple Dragon snarled, grasping onto Sam's chin abusively. "What's a sexy little piece of ass like yerself doin' wanderin' around these streets all by yer lonesome?"

Sam forcibly yanked her chin out of the Dragon's grasp, spitting in his face as an answer to his question. Without so much as batting an eyelash, the Dragon chuckled lowly to himself, wiping off the wad of spit and flicking it off his palm. "Cute," he said before glancing behind him to where his lackeys stood. "Komodo. Spike. Make sure no pigs come drivin' by and ruin our fun. I'm gonna have a little chat with my new friend here."

Spike – the short Dragon with greasy hair – chuckled almost maniacally, making Sam's eyes widen with fear while him and Komodo left to go stand watch from the alleyway. "Fuck her up extra hard for us, Fang!" He crowed, throwing his head back in a twisted series of shouting laughter while Sam's heart slammed furiously inside her chest as she stared into the haunting brown eyes of Fang, who was licking his lips vilely.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, princess." Fang grinned, grabbing onto Sam's wrists to pin them above her head. With her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, Sam desperately tried to yank her wrists free, managing to do so with one arm, which she used to punch the Fang square in the jaw.

Swearing through clenched teeth, Fang slammed Sam back against the wall before she could manage to escape, her head lolling to the side after it had connected with the rough barricade as she let out a painful moan. Pressing all of his strength into his hands, Fang held Sam down while she thrashed and frantically tried to wriggle free, despite the fact that the blow to the head was making her feel dizzy with every move she made. This only made Fang more and more frustrated as he brought his hand back and connected it with Sam's face – the sound of skin slapping against skin echoing faintly through the alleyway.

Too stunned to say anything, Sam just stared wide-eyed at her attacker, feeling the right side of her face erupt into a wash of stinging pain. Tears slowly began to weld from her eyes and Fang did nothing but snarl furiously before grabbing onto the collar of her shirt and _ripping _it.

"I tried to be nice, ya little whore," Fang swore, the horrifying word stabbing right through Sam's heart as she felt the icy cold winds pierce her exposed skin, making her shiver from both the freezing winds and the underlining fear of what was about to happen.

She let out a choked whimper at the vile feeling of Fang's boney hand constrict one of her breasts while the other hand fumbled with his belt and zipper. Feeling frozen from both the intense frosty temperatures and the horrific situation she was trapped in, Sam immediately shut her eyes, letting the tears stream down her face as she silently prayed death would just take her right then and there, allowing her to escape from this horrific situation she so stupidly got herself into.

_Please, God, _Sam pleaded inside her head. _Someone … please … help me…._

Grinning from ear to ear, Fang released his now very hard and very aroused cock, moving his fingers to work on tearing off the bitch's pants to get to the real prize. However, before he was able to do so, he felt a rough, very forceful hand wrap around his neck, choking him to the point where he felt like his windpipes were being crushed. Being hoisted off the ground, Fang could feel himself sailing backwards, the hand that had a death grip on his neck throwing him violently across the alleyway before he connected with the ground and skidded against the dust and dirt that scraped his arms and hands.

Shaking his head to compose himself, Fang immediately opened his eyes, hearing the sound of metal being unsheathed from its confines as he watched a dark figure approach him slowly, bringing their foot up and slamming it against his chest, which forced Fang right back down. The dark figure pointed his weapon right at Fang's face as he glared harmful daggers straight in his direction, making Fang feel a wash of fear spread throughout his entire body before the figure spoke – acid dripping from his words.

"Leave. Her. _Alone_." The man growled hauntingly, his words etched with enough venom to make Fang cower where he lied.

"H-Hey, man, I-I don't want no trouble, o-okay? Y-You can have the bitch—she's all yours!"

Fang yelped when the dark figure stabbed his blade just a centimeter from his head, the hard metal digging into the cold concrete beneath him.

"Don't you _ever _call her that! Have you no respect, you insolent piece of _trash_?" The figure scowled, pulling his blade out from the concrete before kicking Fang out of his way, his weapons still at the ready in case Fang tried to do anything stupid.

Scurrying to his feet, Fang could hear Komodo and Spike entering the alleyway before he turned around and told them they needed to get the fuck out of here _fast_. Obliging their leader's orders, they took off in a run with Fang trailing behind them before he turned around and pointed a finger at his temple – his hand mimicking the shape of a gun being fired.

"This ain't over, you fucker!" Fang shouted before taking a mad dash down the street, leaving the dark figure alone with the bitch he didn't get a chance to fuck tonight.

Dropping to her knees, Sam felt as though her head had been filled with a ton of rocks, making it loll from side to side as darkness consumed her line of vision. The back of her head throbbed violently and the pain was so forceful and real that she found it difficult not to fall deeper and deeper into unconsciousness.

Although the lack of light in the alleyway made it difficult to see from the beginning, Sam could still make out the dark silhouette of the figure that had saved her, watching him approach her with the cautiousness of a hunter approaching a frightened deer. The thought instantly made Sam flinch back in fright until she noticed the careful glint in the figure's dark brown eyes—eyes she knew all too well.

"L-Leo…?" She spoke just above a whisper, her eyelids growing very, very heavy.

"It's okay, Sam. I'm here," Leo spoke gently, lowering himself to his knees to scoop Sam into his arms, careful as to not touch her head as he hesitantly folded the flaps of her ripped open shirt to cover her exposed stomach and bra.

"Leo, I … s'dark—'verything's going d-dark…" she slurred, nodding off like a child who was fighting off sleep. Strange. Why did Leo's chest feel so hard and ridged? And his skin … so cold….

Leo did his best to sooth Sam with his words, letting her know that he was going to get her home. He bit back the wash of anger when he noticed the dark bruise that was beginning to form on Sam's face where the Dragon must've hit her and before Leo could act on his building aggression, he let out a calming breath and composed himself. Right now, his only focus should be getting Sam home. Nothing else.

Carrying her in his arms ever so gently, Leo thought back to what street they were on and mentally cursed himself when he realized the only other way to Casey and April's apartment was through Central Park. No, going through there was like a suicide mission. Even he and his brothers knew never to travel through such a dangerous part of New York City during the night, less they wanted to run into a mob of drug dealers and rapists. He couldn't go around the park either, seeing as it would take way too long and Sam needed medical attention _fast_. He could take her to a hospital, but the proximity of the hospital nearby was always bustling with people during this time of night, Leo wouldn't be able to get Sam very close without someone seeing him.

That only left him with one other option…

…He had to take Sam back to the lair….

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I think I'll stop it right here. ;) Que maniacal laughter. Mwahahahahaha!

Cliffhangers. Don't ya hate 'em? I was originally going to add more to this chapter, but I think it flows a lot better cutting it in half and ending it like this. :) Plus, it leaves you excited because SAM FINALLY GETS TO MEET THE TURTLES! XD Yeesh, took me long enough, right? I can tell I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing the next chapter and I'll be sure to add a good taste of fluff in their since you readers had to deal with drama and depressing dialogue for the past two chapters. Haha! XD

Ugggh! Pissed off Leo is so fucking _sexy_, am I right? ;) I had a lot of fun writing that bit since it's so out of character for our levelheaded turtle. Maybe I should piss Leo off more often? Haha! Nah. XD The poor guy doesn't need more added stress in his life. That's why he gets the girl first. ;) Don't worry Raph, Donnie, and Mikey! You guys will get some lovin' soon too! XD

Also, I'd like to apologize for the point of view changes toward the ending. They bugged the shit out of me, but then again, I personally thought it would've looked really sloppy if I broke the chapter down and switched point of views for like three paragraphs and then broke the chapter down again to switch to another point of view and so on and so forth. Hopefully it's not too confusing with how it is now and if it is, I'll try to refrain from doing that so much.

Whelp, I believe that's all I've gotta say. :) I won't leave you guys hanging for very long with my next update and will try very, very, VERY hard to have it posted by Sunday night. If not, then you can be 100 percent sure I'll have it up here before August 25th, seeing as that reaches my 10 day deadline. :) So, until next time readers!

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	12. Dreamland

**Author's Note****: **Booyakasha! I did it! Frankly I should've been asleep like two hours ago, but who the hell needs sleep when this chapter was just BEGGING to be finished! Dx Besides, I couldn't stop at the point where I was at because the fluff just captured my heart and proved it's more important than a few extra hours of sleep. Haha! XD

But seriously, readers, I need to head to bed like, NOW! Dx I have to be up in six hours to head to my first class at 7:30 in the morning followed by six hours of work and picking up my sister from school. x.x Maybe I should buy a Monster on my way to work. Or indulge myself in free coffee. Either way, I know for sure caffeine is gonna be my best friend tomorrow...

Alright! Let's get on with the thank yous! Thank you so much for your reviews, **adventuresstime**, **CrazyGeekyLove**, **Sle****epingSeeker**, **guest **(probably not your name, but it's all I've got, haha! XD), and **Enimul**. You guys rock my socks and all your reviews and any other reviews I get from you readers helps and inspires me to write. :D Also, big thanks to **Laurenadel story's **for her continuous support and stream of ideas and also big thanks to **SleepingSeeker **for suggesting a really great fic on here by **DarkUnderworld** called, "Cardinal Points". If you haven't read it, readers, go check it out. It's surely caught my attention as well as **CrazyGeekyLove**'s story "Sleepless in the Sewers". :)

Alright, enough of my advertising. I hope you all enjoy the fic and I hope you're all ready for some cute fluff between Leo and Sam! :3

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 11**

**Dreamland**

* * *

**Midnight: Thursday Morning**

"_Ouch_!" Donatello cried, glancing abruptly over his shoulder to glare dagger at Michelangelo.

The orange-banded turtle immediately brought his hands up in defense, haking his head with a look of innocence spread across his face. "Wasn't me, bro."

"What do you mean it wasn't you?" Donnie glared, rubbing the back of his head to dull the pain while pointing at the lone can before his feet. "You've been kicking cans ever since we stopped those muggers on Chambers Stre—_ouch_!"

The clanking sound of another can bouncing off Donatello's head and dropping to the floor echoed silently within the brother's inner circle before purple-banded turtle's eyes travelled in the direction of where it was thrown with an annoyed sneer.

"_You_ are nothing but a selfish little prick, you know that?" Raphael growled, pointing an accusing finger at the brainiac turtle. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I _think_ I'm Donatello." Don had retorted dryly before straightening himself up. "Might I ask who the hell you think _you _are chucking cans at the back of my head for no reason like an insensible juggernaut?"

"Oh, I got a reason, Donnie. Ya think just 'cuz things didn't work out between you and April that that gives ya the right to go pissin' on other people's parades? Yer lucky all I did was throw a can at yer fat, ugly head."

"Are you serious right now, Raph?" Don growled. "You're _defending _Leo for what he's been doing for the past couple of days? Need I remind you that he had us all worried sick with all his moping around and hindering attitude when in reality all he was doing was thinking with his dick, running off to see a girl who doesn't even know what the hell he looks like!"

"Woah, Donnie, relax," Mikey urged, not used to hearing his pacifist brother utter such guttural language in such a boisterous volume. He almost sounded like Raph.

"Oh, fuck off, Donnie. Like you were Mister Innocent back when ya had the hots for April. Need I remind _you _that there were nights where you'd wake me up with all the fuckin' noise you'd be making? If that's innocent, then I must be a goddamn sex offender or shit."

Donatello couldn't help the eminent blush that spread through his cheeks, taken aback that his brother would bring up such a personal subject about what he did behind closed doors in the comfort of his bedroom. However, the feeling subsided as he ground his teeth while forcing himself to speak as calmly as he could muster. "Please understand – _both_ of you – that my intentions were never to cause dejection toward Leonardo feelings."

"Could've fooled me, bro," Mikey pointed out, his face meek while commiseration shone in his baby blue eyes. "I think today was like the only day in, well, a while where I've actually seen Leo happy. I mean, we're always so used to seeing him walk around like a cold statue that it felt, well, nice seeing him with an actual smile on his face."

"And how long did you think that was going to last, Mikey?" asked Don, his arms crossed over his plastron in a stern manner. "The pain and sorrow I went through – I wouldn't wish that on my enemies let alone my own brother. Not only do you feel like scum of the earth, but what makes it all the more unbearable is that it lingers—_for weeks_! Sometimes even _months_! Do you really want Leo – our leader – to go through something so agonizing? A broken heart never heals, you two. When the pain eventually does subside, the wounds don't close up. They stay there. _Forever_."

Silence carried on between the three as the harsh sounds of car horns and pedestrians shouting echoed into the streets, only adding to the intense fog of tension that separated the three brothers from each other. With his arms crossed over his plastron, Raphael was the first to break the silence, glaring daggers at his braniac brother before he spoke.

"You know what I think 'bout all this? I think yer jealous."

"What?" Donnie growled, his teeth ground together almost painfully.

"You heard me. Yer jealous 'cuz Leo's found himself a girl who can apparently stand to be around him for more than five minutes. Just 'cuz _you_ didn't have yerself a little happy fairytale endin' don't mean Leo's heart will get broken if him and Sam continue seein' each other."

"And what if it does?" Don asked, a flicker of challenging antagonism flaring in his chocolate brown eyes.

"What if it doesn't?"

"But what if it _does_, Raph? The heart is a delicate and fragile organ and if you're not enormously careful with it, you can do some series damage that will leave Leo completely and utterly fractured. Like I said, a broken heart never heals, but if you and Mikey want to set Leo up for anguish and heartache, then be my guest. He can backlash at the two of you when Sam decides to toss him to the side like yesterday's garbage."

Raphael felt his teeth ground together in pure ferocity before he reached for his sais, ready to release his anger and pent up aggression on his brother through a series of combative blows and strikes. However, the sound of his Shell Cell blaring to life stopped the red-banded turtle from doing so and he nearly ripped the damn thing from its holster on his belt before jabbing at the answer button.

"_WHAT_?" The red-banded turtle roared.

Thinking he temporarily deafened Leonardo on the other end after receiving total silence for a few seconds, it didn't take long before the blue-banded turtle started going off at a million miles per second, each word sounding jumbled together and almost high-pitched, making it hard for Raphael to understand what the hell Leo was talking about.

"Woah, woah, slow down, Leo," he urged, noticing the anger on Donatello's face had subsided for the moment, replaced with blatant curiosity. "Alright, now where did you say you were again?"

"_I'm on my way back to the lair. Something happened and I need you all to come back home _immediately_. I should be home in about five or so minutes, give or take. Also, I need you to call Casey and tell him he needs to be here too—as quickly as he can make it."_

"What happened?" Mikey asked, hovering over Raph's shoulder with slight worry etched in his voice.

"_Just—just hurry up and get here, please. I don't have time to explain at the moment, but I promise I'll give you the full details the minute you guys come home."_

"Why do we need to call Casey? Did somethin' happen?" Raphael asked, his tone also imprinted with pure trepidation.

"…_Yes. Sam's hurt and I'm bringing her to the lair to clean her up and tend to her wounds. I think she may have suffered a concussion and I need you guys to be here to help me help her recover. Especially Donnie…."_

At the mention of his name, Donatello reached over and grabbed the Shell Cell from Raph's hand, turning his back on his brothers rather rudely. "How close are you to the lair?"

There was a slight pause on the other end before Leo's slightly frantic voice could be heard again. _"Uhm, about two more turns and I should be there."_

"What other injuries has she obtained?"

"_She—she has a bruise on the right side of her face. And a couple of scrapes on the back of her arms, but nothing too nasty."_

"Run some warm water and grab an icepack from the kitchen. The pack should be in the drawers next to the sink. If she wakes up before we get there, call me immediately and let me know about her symptoms. Whether she's throwing up, has impaired speech, or slips into unconsciousness again. Whatever the case, let me know. We'll be there in about ten to fifteen minutes."

"_Thank you, Donatello…."_

The purple-banded turtle simply nodded, ending the call before tossing the Shell Cell at Raphael. "Call Casey and let him know what's going on. We need to get back home and fast."

With a quick nod, Raphael immediately did as he was told and punched in Casey's contact info, jetting off into the night behind his brothers and letting the harsh winds rush past his face.

(-)

Leo wasn't expecting Master Splinter to be up this late at night. In fact, he was kind of hoping—no, _praying _that he'd walk into the lair with the sound of silence to greet him with welcoming acceptance. However, there was a side of him that let out a sigh of relief when he saw his father catching up on his soaps on the living room couch, because this only meant Leonardo wouldn't have to wait until his brothers arrived home to help him tend to Sam's injuries. He only hoped his sensei didn't rattle him with questions. At the current moment, Leonardo was already racked with shaky uneasiness from both Sam's current state and the reaction on his father's face when he witnessed his eldest son carry a human girl into their home. He didn't need his father's interrogations at the moment. Right now, his only focus was to heed Donatello's orders and heal Sam as best he could until his braniac brother could go over her injuries and figure out the best way to help her recover.

Right now, nothing else mattered to Leonardo except for the recuperation of the girl he held securely in his arms….

"I understand I owe you an explanation, Sensei and I promise, you will receive one within due time. But right now, I need you to help me with this girl's injuries. Please," Leonardo spoke with calming urgency, receiving a curt nod from Master Splinter before the wizened rat tapped his way toward the kitchen to run some warm water.

Leonardo didn't know whether to be grateful or frightened that his father actually listened to him without uttering a single word.

Shaking his concerns out of his head, Leo carefully laid Sam on the couch where Master Splinter had been sitting at earlier, reaching for the remote to turn off the TV so that the room was filled with nothing but the faint sound of the faucet running. He placed a pillow carefully under Sam's head, making sure to be extra delicate before propping himself on his knees, surveying Sam's face with a furrow of guilt.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you sooner. If I was—I … maybe I could've prevented this from happening…." Leo whispered, his fingers ghosting over the welt just centimeters away from Sam's eye.

He could feel a presence standing behind him and Leo glanced over his shoulder to see Master Splinter holding up a large bowl of warm water and a clean cloth. With a polite thanks, he took the bowl and set it on the ground next to him, dipping the cloth in the lukewarm water before wringing it out and dapping it over Sam's arms where a series of cuts and scrapes decorated her skin. He had to contain his rising fury when Leonardo noticed that there were also faint bruises covering Sam's wrists, making the blue-banded turtle ground his teeth wrathfully.

The sound of Master Splinter's voice, however, broke Leo of his reverie. "How long?"

"Sensei?" Leonardo blinked owlishly, stopping his actions for a brief moment to glance over his shoulder.

"How long have you been seeing this girl, my son? You of all people should know better than to bring someone into the sanctuary of our home. Especially without the blessing of your sensei."

Leonardo could feel his heart quicken fretfully before glancing back down at Sam and letting out a long sigh that seemed to intensify the burden in his shoulders. "Since the night after we went to go visit Casey and April at their apartment. Raphael and I had attempted to rescue her father from a Purple Dragon attack, but careless actions resulted in him nearly losing his life…. I had been visiting with Sam every night since then…."

"I see," Master Splinter spoke, his stern eyes travelling down to where Sam lay, his tail flicking back and forth in thought. "It all makes sense now."

"What do you—" Leonardo didn't have time to finish his sentence before the sound of a soft groan escaped from Sam's lips as she stirred carefully; her eyes fluttering open. The blue-banded turtle tensed as if even the slightest of moves would cause something fatal as he watched Sam's head slowly loll to the side, her focus angled directly at him.

"Where … what happened? How did I get—" She paused, ceasing the action of rubbing her eye as she stared up at Leonardo – the blank expression on her face making the blue-banded turtle feel as though time had frozen right then and there.

"S-Sam…" he stuttered. "…it's—it's me, Leon—"

She immediately backed away to the other side of the couch, a look of panic flashing in her extensively frightful eyes as her chest heaved up and down in a quickened tempo that matched her apprehensive breaths. "W-What the hell are you? Where am I? W-Why did you bring me here? Tell me _now_!"

"Sam, please, just calm down. Everything's going to be alright," Leo urged, his eye ridges furrowed both anxiously and dejected. She was acting just like the rest of them. Just like all the other humans him and his brothers would cross paths with before they would turn around and flee for their lives, screaming at the top of their lungs and calling them monsters. No. This couldn't be happening. This was Sam – the girl he had formed a sort of connection with when they danced last night; when she allowed him to step into her world where just he and she were the populace. She accepted him into her life and Leo could already see that acceptance begin to eradicate right before his eyes as Sam stared up at him with fear flashing in her evergreen irises, making his heart break slowly into the tiniest of cracks.

"Sam, it's me … Leonardo. Your guardian angel … remember?"

At first, Sam was silent – her eyes never leaving Leonardo's sight as the grip she had on the couch slowly started to loosen. Her body gradually relieved the tension in her bones, making Leo let out a mental sigh in relief before she leaned forward, her lips parted in slight fixation. She studied his presence, her eyes trailing over every inch of Leonardo's body, from the nervousness flashing in his dark brown eyes, to the edges of his plastron, to the toes on his feet—no more than three on each foot.

With a shaky breath, Sam looked back up into Leo's eyes, wetting her lips before speaking at the lowest of volumes. "So this is why you always stayed hidden from me…."

Leo could only nod, feeling as though if he made any other slight movements, he would scare Sam off and never see her again.

"You're … you're a turtle … correct?"

"Yes…" he spoke with tension in his tone while Sam surveyed the living room she was brought into.

"Where am I?"

"In the sewers of New York, young one," Master Splinter spoke before Leo even had a chance to utter a syllable. "My son thought it best to bring you here while he tended to your injuries."

Sam's eyes immediately widened at the sight of the giant, elderly rat standing before her, her chest heaving up and down slightly in rising panic. Leonardo immediately pushed past his sensei, resting a hand on his father's shoulder in silent apology.

"S-Sam, this is my father and sensei. Master Splinter, this is Sam, Casey's cousin."

The wizened rat nodded in response while Sam's eyes flicked from Master Splinter to Leo. "Your father?"

Leo couldn't help the small pull of his lips curving into a light smile. "It's a long story."

Before Sam could even speak, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed into the lair, causing both Leo, Sam, and Master Splinter to turn their heads in the direction from where it was coming from. It didn't take long before they were greeted by the presence of Donnie, Raph, and Mikey with Casey rushing just steps behind them.

Sam's eyes widened at the sight of her cousin. "Casey?"

"Sam! Are you alright? What happened? Who the hell did this to you?" Casey spoke frantically, rushing toward the couch and skidding to his knees so that he was at eye-level with his cousin, surveying her cuts and bruises like she was bleeding out on the couch, gasping her last breath before she slipped into darkness.

"I—I-I ran into some Purple Dragons when I was trying to find my way home," she explained, her eyes narrowing as the memories began to flash through her head. "Casey, these were the same goons who nearly killed my dad. They took his special lighter and were acting like nothing had—"

"—So you went up against three gang members in the middle of the night all by yourself? Sam, do you—do you have any idea how _dangerous_ that was? You could've been killed! You're lucky Leo was there to save you before things escalated too far. What the hell were you _thinking_?"

"Casey, I—" She paused, tearing her eyes from the ground to stare up at her cousin with her eyes narrowed almost accusingly. "How do you know Leonardo? Matter of fact, how did you even know where I was at?"

Casey could feel a tension in his shoulders as his body froze up, his eyes flicking back and forth from Sam to Leo. When they had settled on Leonardo, he offered him a curt nod, remembering the blue-banded turtle's words that he had shared with him on the rooftop before Casey honored him with his blessing to look after his cousin when he wasn't able to.

Swallowing any ounce of fear he had, Casey let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "These are my friends, Sam. I know 'em because … because I help 'em patrol the city at night. I'm a vigilante, Sam—someone who takes out the scum of New York without the aid of the police. Believe it or not, the police actually hate our guts for what the five of us are doin' out there. Makes 'em feel like we're tryin' to run 'em outta business or something."

"A vigilante?" Sam repeated, her teeth ground together almost painfully. "So you're yelling at me for risking my life to take down the creeps who hurt my dad while you're over here playing T.J. Hooker?"

"Sam, calm down. Just let me explain—"

"—I don't think there's anything _to _explain, Case." Sam barked acidly. "You _kept _this from me and for what? To keep yourself from looking like the biggest hypocrite on the planet?"

"Sam, you don't understand. I did this to—"

"—To what? You know what, I don't even wanna know. You know why? Because I'll have no idea whether whatever it is you want to tell me is the truth or not. So why don't you go back to the apartment and leave me alo—_urgh_…."

Leo immediately rushed to Sam's side, placing his hands on her shoulders as she bent forward, clutching the sides of her head. Her eyes screwed shut and her lips twisted in pain, making it Donnie's cue to switch into doctor mode and push both Leo and Casey to the side.

"Give her some space," he ordered, getting down on his knees to get a better look at Sam's face before speaking in the softest of whispers. "She might slip into unconsciousness again and all this arguing isn't doing her any good. She needs time to rest or else her headaches will only increase."

Master Splinter tapped his way toward Casey, placing a gentle hand on the vigilante's shoulders to grab his attention. "Perhaps it is best if Sam stay the night here with us. She is in no condition to be making sudden movements at her current state."

"But Master Splinter—!" Casey started, only to stop himself before looking down at his cousin, seeing the hurt and pain eminent on her face.

Raphael gripped the vigilante's shoulder in a calmly manner before patting him on the back reassuringly. "Don't worry, Case, she'll be fine. We got Doctor Donnie watchin' over her to make sure she makes a speedy recovery. And you know Leo'll never leave her sight even for a second."

Letting the red-banded turtles words sink in, Casey shoulders slumped in defeat as he let everyone know he'll be back tomorrow to check up on Sam. With a few goodbyes exchanged, the vigilante glanced over his shoulder, seeing his cousin stare back at him with prominent betrayal flickering in her eyes, making Casey frown dejectedly before exiting the lair with nothing else to say.

The next few minutes went by with Donnie fetching a bottle of Tylenol for Sam to take and going over any other abnormal feelings she may be going through, such as the need to vomit, ringing in the ears, or sensitivity to sound. No one seemed to take notice that Leonardo had never left Sam's side since Casey had left – either that, or they didn't seem to care as Donnie did some last minute check-ups before offering Sam a glass of water to wash down her pills with and advising her to get plenty of rest.

Master Splinter was the first to head to bed, followed by Raph, Mikey, and lastly, Donnie, leaving the blue-banded turtle and Sam alone on the couch as silence filtered through them like a dense fog.

"Are you going to be okay on the couch?" Leo asked, his eye ridges furrowed in worry. "My room isn't that much of a walk and I'm sure you'll be much more comfortable."

"Thank you for the offer, Leonardo, but you heard your father. It's best I don't make any sudden movements until I've gotten my rest."

"At least let me go fetch you some blankets. It gets pretty cold down here during the colder seasons." He rushed out of the living room, arriving not even a minute later with a heap of warm blankets before laying them down over each other to create a soft cushion that would make Sam more comfortable. "Better?"

"Much better. Thank you." Sam smiled, fumbling with her hands when the silence reared its ugly head once again.

"Well … I-I guess I should let you sleep then. I'll see you in the mor—"

"Leo, wait." Sam interrupted, making Leo flinch slightly as he stared down at the frightened look eminent on Sam's delicate face. "I … do you think you can stay here with me? Until I fall asleep? I—I don't want to be left alone after … after what happened—with the Purple Dragons and all…."

"I—okay," Leo breathed, walking slowly toward the couch while Sam scooted over to make room. The couch was wide enough for the both of them to lie side by side without Leo feeling like he was on the verge of falling off as he slipped under the warm blankets and wrapped his arms rather awkwardly around Sam's lithe frame.

"This isn't uncomfortable at all, is it?" She asked, her tone worried and nervous before Leo allowed himself to relax some.

"No, not at all. This is … this is nice."

"I never thanked you for saving my life back there. Although I'm extremely pissed at Casey for yelling at me like that, he was right. What I did was incredibly stupid."

"You're only human, Sam. It's normal for people to be overtaken by anger and vengeance – especially under the circumstances that drove them to those emotions."

"Well, I'm glad you were there to stop it from escalating into something fatal." Sam smiled, nuzzling closer against Leo's plastron, allowing him to get a small whiff of her hair – the hypnotizing aroma making Leo let out a small sigh of content. "Thank you, Leonardo."

"Y-You're welcome, Sam," he spoke, the feel of Sam's body pressing closer to his, causing him to act boldly as he reached a hand and slowly but gently stroked Sam's midnight brown tresses, losing himself in her silky locks before his eyes fluttered shut and sleep carried the both of them into the confinements of dreamland….

* * *

Squeeeee! I got the feels, guys! x3 Now Leo doesn't have to hide in the shadows from Sam anymore! :D And from here on out, we're gonna see nothing but their relationship develop into something more. I can't wait! XD

I do want to apologize if Master Splinter sounded a little bit OOC. Still trying to get used to writing dialogue for him. :P But I'm sure it'll get better with practice. :) Hope you're all ready to read about how Sam will interact with not only Leo but with the other turtles as well in the next chapter. ;D Let's just say I'm gonna have A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of fun writing this next chapter. *evil smirk* Mwahahaha!

Okay, I seriously need to flop on my bed and die. Dx Catch ya next time, readers! And don't be afraid to press that review button and send me any thoughts or comments you have may have. :) Receiving reviews really boosts my confidence in this story seeing as this is my first TMNT fic and it really puts a smile on my face hearing what you readers have to say about this story. :D

So, until next time:

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	13. Just Bust a Move

**Author's Note****: **Good Jesus, why does it feel like I've been away from ages? I missed you guys! Dx Guess that's what I get for posting the last couple of chapters in a span of like a week. :P Ah, well. What's up, readers? :D Boy, have I got a treat for y'all. ;) Let me just say now that this chapter was a friggin' pain in the ASS to write! I thought it was gonna flow and come naturally like some of the other chapters have been doing, but NO! I had to change this chapter like FIVE times! But thanks to **Laurenadel story's **for her fantabulous ideas, I finally came up with something that I didn't want to tear up into little pieces and start all over again. :P

Alright! Since this chapter is so friggin' long, I'll keep the disclaimer short. I wanna give a big, big thanks to my reviewers: **CrazyGeekyLove** (also really loved your last chapter for "Sleepless in the Sewers :D), **Ninjanoodles27**, **clary2008**, **SleepingSeeker **(thank you for your input; I seriously did forget about Sam's shirt, so hopefully I cleared things up in this chapter Dx), **jacquiestevens6 **(for reviewing on Chapter 10; and yes, you and the readers will get a hint in a second!), **adventuresstime**, **Enimul**, and **Kimmie98** (for also reviewing for Chapter 10). You guys continue to rock and keep the reviews coming! They're what fuel my passion to write! :D

Alright, before we begin, **jacquiestevens6 **has asked for a hint on who will be the next turtle to get a girl in this story. Now, I could give you guys a totally vague and utterly confusing hint that'll keep you up at night wondering what the answer is, but I'm not that cruel. Nor do I have to patience or braincells to come up with such a horrendously difficult hint. XD So, I'll make it fairly easy. :) The turtle who sits out on dancing in this chapter is the next turtle who will be meeting his lucky lady. ;D As to who that lucky lady is, I ain't tellin'! You're just gonna have to figure that out on your own, readers. ;) Although I might drop a few subtle hints here or there. o.o

That's right, readers, you read that right. There's gonna be dancing in this chapter! ;D I have to say, I had a lot of fun thinking of what songs to put in here and scrolling through break dancing videos on Youtube. Made me wanna bust a few moves here and there. Too bad I can't dance to save my life. Dx But, it was a lot of fun writing that particular scene and I hope you readers enjoy it. :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Ninja Turtles, nor the rights to any of the following songs you're about to read in this chapter - these songs including: "Beggin'" by Madcon, "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga, "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake, and "Turn Up the Music" by Chris Brown. Care to guess who's gonna be dancing to which song? ;) Looks like you'll have to read and find out!

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 12**

**Just Bust a Move**

* * *

**Thursday Morning**

_Fire. That's what she saw when she stared straight into his smoldering black eyes as tears began to streak down her cheeks. An intense white hot flicker of taunting as he tightened his grip on her wrists, entrapping her in a prison that held no chance of escape. She was stuck—caught in a trap she had walked straight into, not realizing that tonight was the night she was going die…._

"_Just sit back and enjoy the ride, princess." He mocked, his fangs exposed underneath the pale moonlight, making her feel like she was staring into the face of the Devil. _

_This was it. This was it for her…._

_And then…_

_The feeling of her attacker's hot, sticky breath no longer grazed her neck and Sam felt as though she were no longer barricaded. She watched as her attacker sailed across the air, skidding to the ground while a mysterious figure cloaked in the shadows etched toward him, the sound of metal whistling dangerously as it was released from its holster. She could hear a guttural voice beneath the sound of the wind but her mind was too foggy to put words into sentences as she slipped into the darkness, spiraling downward into the dark rabbit hole of her subconscious—the world around her a fading blur._

_And then … warmth. A powerful array of warmth that surrounded her body, providing her with a sense of protective security and not enclosed entrapment like her attacker had made her feel. No—this was … different. She felt safe. Secure. Like nobody or anything could touch her. _

_Like her life was in the arms of a guardian angel…._

Sam immediately stirred against her pillow as the remnants of her dreams slowly began to fade back into her subconscious, pulling her out of the realm of dreamland while her eyes lids fluttered open. She let out a tired yawn and from the darkness that surrounded her bedroom, she figured it was still early in the morning to the point where even the sun wasn't ready to wake up yet. But she was awake and one of the biggest things that she hated about herself was once she was awake, she couldn't fall back asleep. No matter how hard she tried.

Figuring she'd get a jump-start at getting ready for school, she reached over to pull the blankets off her body and crawl out of bed, ready to start the day. But there was something that seemed to be blocking her path. Figuring she had slept crazy like she tended to do sometimes when she grew restless in her sleep, Sam thought it was just her blankets that managed to tangle around her body, making it feel like someone had their arms wrapped around her in a soothing embrace. However, when Sam reached over to remove the blanket that draped over her frame, she noticed there _was _someone with their arms wrapped around her. And this someone wasn't human….

Eyes wide and breath hitched in her throat, Sam slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, her chest heaving up and down in a flourish of panic. What the hell was that thing? How the hell did it get into her room? Into her bed!

With her eyes flicking back and forth over her surroundings, Sam's hand immediately dropped down to her lap as she noticed everything that _should_ look familiar _didn't _look familiar at all. This wasn't her room. This was even her bed, it was a couch. How did she…?

And that's when it hit her.

Last night. The run in with the Purple Dragons. Blanking out. Waking up in the arms of her guardian—

"Leo…" Sam whispered, staring down at the sleeping turtle before her, watching as his chest heaved up and down in a peaceful, rhythmic patter; his lips parted ever so slightly while his arms wrapped securely around her frame, keeping her close to his plastron.

At that moment, Sam could feel every ounce of fear she held before completely slip away, the tension in her shoulders beginning to relax. She ran her fingers through her hair, careful not to graze her bruised face before she noticed her shirt was parted straight down the middle, revealing her pink, laced bra.

A timid blush stained her cheeks pinker than the material that covered her breasts as she quickly folded the flaps of her shirt over her chest, embarrassed that she had slept next to Leonardo like that. Why were they sleeping together on the couch anyway? She couldn't remember that far back, seeing as her mind was still a little foggy. Did she let him sleep by her side?

Did they … did her and Leo…?

No. No, they couldn't have, she thought, shaking the perverse thoughts out of her head enough to where the room started spinning. She couldn't remember the full details, but the thought of being alone struck fear into her gut and she remembered feeling that sense of growing anxiety before she fell asleep. Had Leo offered to rest beside her until she drifted off into a heavy slumber? Or was she the one that asked him?

_I … do you think you can stay here with me? Until I fall asleep? I—I don't want to be left alone after … after what happened—with the Purple Dragons and all…._

_I—okay…._

Sam looked down at her guardian once more, listening to him groan something inaudible before he stirred underneath the blankets. It was enough to bring a smile to her face as she reached over and gently brushed her fingers against Leonardo's cheek, noticing how warm and smooth his skin felt against her touch.

The blue-banded turtle hummed quietly, nuzzling his cheek against Sam's hand while tightening his hold around her waist, his arms feeling so strong and protective, yet gentle and secure, as if silently promising he'd never let her venture into harm's way ever again. She could feel her heart flutter against her chest as her lips tugged into a genuine smile, watching her guardian sleep soundly while she grazed and caressed his cheek longingly

_I never thanked you for saving my life back there…_

_You're only human, Sam. It's normal for people to be overtaken by anger and vengeance – especially under the circumstances that drove them to those emotions._

_Well, I'm glad you were there to stop it from escalating into something fatal. Thank you, Leonardo._

"Thank you … my guardian turtle," she breathed, moving her hand back when Leo began to exit the realm of dreamland, letting out a tired yawn before slumping back against the couch, his eyes fluttering open as he stared into Sam's evergreen eyes.

"Morning." She smiled, her voice soft and just above a whisper, allowing Leo time to adjust to letting his mind form coherent thoughts and sounds as he shook the last bit of sleep out of his system.

Sam was expecting for him to say good morning to her back, but instead of a tired smile and a fellow greeting, Leonardo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before he released his hold on her and pushed himself as far back as he could, his carapace connecting with the floor.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her hair curtaining the sides of her face as she watched Leo scramble to his feet, having difficulty doing so with the blankets tied around his body like a cobra wrapped around its prey.

"I-I'm sorry!" He cried, his chest heaving up and down in panic. "P-Please forgive me, Sam. Trust me when I say these weren't my intentions at all and I had planned to head straight to my own bed when you fell asleep, but I—"

"Woah, woah, Leo, relax. It's okay, really," she urged, offering her guardian a kind smile that showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever. "You fell asleep without intending to – it's fine. I mean, it's not like we did anything, right? We just slept."

"I—" He paused, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously and Sam couldn't help but cringe back ever so slightly, making sure her chest was covered and her bra wasn't exposed. Leo was already feeling uneasy and she didn't want to make matters worse by letting her shirt flap open, making the situation even more awkward than it needed to be.

As she reached a hand to help him up, Sam noticed Leo's breathing began to even out into steady breaths before he took her hand and rose to his feet. For a second, they let the silence overtake their surroundings as they both stared at the ground nervously, unsure of what to say.

"H-How are you feeling?" Leo asked.

"Fine. A little sore, but nothing to fret over. I couldn't remember much from last night when I woke up, but things are starting to come back to me now." She looked up at him, her lips curved into a lopsided smile. "You nearly gave me a friggin' heart attack. I could've sworn I was in my room back at the apartment until I noticed someone holding on to me."

"I'm sorry," Leo apologized, his shoulders sagging almost hurtfully.

"But it's okay," Sam added quickly, feeling her cheeks warm slightly before she wet her lips. "Because of you, I felt safe and was able to sleep without tossing and turning in my sleep. So … thank you."

"You're welcome," he breathed, the tension in his shoulders beginning to relax as he shuffled his feet uncertainly. "That was actually the most peaceful sleep had I in a while…"

"Really?" She asked, noticing the slight taken aback flinch in Leonardo's muscles, as if he were expecting a backlash response to escape from her lips. She pondered at this response, but stored those accusations in the back of her mind before she offered him the gentlest of smiles. "Same here."

She couldn't tell from the darkness that separated her from her guardian, but Sam could've sworn she saw the hint of a smile graze Leonardo's face before he cleared his throat and glanced in the direction toward his right. "It's almost six thirty. Are you sure you don't want to get a few more hours of sleep in? If you're able to walk without overexerting yourself, I can offer you my bed to rest in. It'll probably be a lot more comfortable than the couch."

Sam couldn't help the giggle that escaped her throat before she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at her guardian. "Why, Leonardo, did you just invite me to your bedroom?"

She had to internally bite her cheek to keep herself from busting a gut when she saw the blue-banded turtle stand frozen in shock, his words spilling out of his mouth in a serious of stutters. "I-I-I—w-what I meant was, I mean—"

She doubled over in laughter. "Relax, Leo, I'm just messing with you. Besides, even if I did sleep in a nice comfy bed, it wouldn't do me any justice. I have this curse where if I wake up – no matter how early in the morning it is – I stay awake. No amount of warm milk or chamomile tea can knock me back into submission. Believe me, I've tried." She paused, the smile on her face faltering for a second before she raised a curious eyebrow. "Don't you want to get more sleep in?"

"This is usually the normal time I wake up," Leonardo chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck modestly. "I usually use this time to meditate or make myself some tea before my brothers stumble out of bed. It's still pretty early though, so we still have about an hour or so before they decide to grace us with their presence."

"I see." Sam giggled, lifting herself off the couch. "In that case, mind pointing me in the direction of the shower?"

"My pleasure." He smiled, his cheeks flushing when he realized what he had just said. "I-I mean—"

"—I know what you meant." She chuckled, patting her guardian on the shoulder before allowing him to lead the way.

* * *

Donatello buried his face into the softness of his pillow, groaning under his breath at the constant sound of pots and pans clanging and scraping against the top part of the stove from the kitchen. Lazily, he glanced over at his alarm clock, noticing that it was reaching close to 7:30 and with a weary yawn, the purple-banded turtle hoisted himself out of bed and stretched the kinks out of his body.

Since the events that had unfolded last night, Donatello figured everyone would be sleeping-in, thinking their sensei would cut them some slack and let their daily morning training session slide for the day. He was still surprised his father had actually allowed Sam to stay the night with them, seeing as no one had any knowledge as to what she was like as a person other than the little bits of information they had gathered from Casey last time they went to go visit. Other than that, the only other person who actually got to know Sam on a more personal level was Leonardo and although Donatello was still mad at his older brother for keeping them in the dark for the past couple of days about his change in behavior, he was grateful that things were finally coming into the light and Leo wasn't being so secretive about things anymore.

Or at least, he had hoped.

Putting those thoughts aside in a mental box to be pondered at later, Donatello made his way toward the door, figuring Leo would be up and in the dojo going over a few katas to give his body a little taste of the familiarity Master Splinter had distilled upon all of them. Every morning, it was get up, get ready for practice, train for about an hour and a half, and then breakfast. Then again, since Sam had slept over the other night, Donatello figured if Leo had even slept at all, thinking his brother would've watched over Sam like a hawk, making sure she slept peacefully and had no further issues with her injuries that would require Leo's aide. The thought peaked the purple-banded turtle's thoughts, but before he could ponder at them further, the faint smell of something burning quickly snapped him out of his muse, followed by the sound of a something metal dropping to the floor.

Donatello's eyes widen in panic before he made a mad dash toward the kitchen, his lips tugging into a prominent snarl.

"Dammit, Mikey, if we have to use one more fire extinguisher today, I'm gonna—"

"—Something's burning! Something's burning!" Mikey screamed, shooting past Donatello at lightning speed before skidding to a halt and recoiling back. "Donnie! Where'd you put the fire extinguisher?"

"Same place it's always been. What the hell did you burn now?" Donatello seethed, only to receive a blank look from his baby brother.

"What're you talking about? I just woke up," Mikey pointed out, making Donatello stare back at the orange-banded turtle in question.

"Fuckin' Christ, Mikey! Can't ya go _one day _without settin' the goddamn kitchen on fire? If this keeps up, we're all gonna have the life expectancy of chain smokers before we're twenty," Raphael grumbled, stomping his way down the hallway toward his brothers while shooting an annoyed glare at Michelangelo.

"Once again, I just woke up," Mikey grumbled, folding his arms over his plastron irritably. "Geeze, you guys make it sound like I can't even boil water without setting the lair on fire."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Raphael retorted dryly before the sound of something crashing to the floor caught the three turtle's attention.

With enough speed that even the Flash would be jealous of, the three turtles raced past the living room and into the kitchen, all three curious to see who it was that was so dead set on making them all choke to death in a gulf of smoke. When they all finally reached the kitchen, all three of them stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes widened at the sight of none other than Leonardo hovering over the stove, a series of four pans cooking various things preoccupying his attention while he tried desperately not to suffocate from the clouds of smoke that were probably filling his lungs to capacity.

Unsure of what he was seeing, Michelangelo took a step forward, an eye ridge raised in question before he spoke. "Leo?"

The blue-banded turtle didn't even glance over his shoulder as he sputtered something incoherent, flipping over a few pancakes before he reached over for the pan on his right, which crackled and sizzled to the tune similar to that of bacon frying. Tongs in hand, he focused on turning the strips of bacon over, but instantly recoiled back with an obscene curse, bringing his hand up to his mouth and blowing on it.

"Why is cooking bacon so … _dangerous_?" Leo asked, not expecting an answer as he continued to blow on the scorched area of his hand while his brothers simply stared dumbfounded, not really knowing exactly what to say.

Michelangelo was the first to speak as he walked over toward the drawer near the fridge, pulling out some oven mitts along with a rather colorfully printed apron that April had gotten him for Christmas last year. "That's why you cover up, dude. Need I remind you we don't exactly have any clothes to protect us from flying bacon grease? It's like cooking in the buff."

Leonardo cringed at the disturbing image before he looked down at the familiar apron with a lazy glare. "I'm not wearing that."

"Fine." Michelangelo pulled the apron and mittens back before he nudged Leo out of the way with his hip before tying the apron around his waist. "Then at least let me help you out. I don't think Sam will be very impressed if you make her sick with whatever concoctions you've got cooking here. So stand back and let Chef Michelangelo work his magic!"

"Oh, great. Now there's only a seventy-five percent chance the lair will catch on fire today," Donatello chided dryly, glancing over his shoulder toward the couch once he had noticed an array of blankets neatly folded and stacked on top of each other placed at the far end of said furniture piece. "So where's Sam?"

"In the shower," Leonardo spoke, snatching the spatula back from Michelangelo to continue flipping over a few more pancakes. "She should be out in a few minutes, so I want to at least have a good stack of pancakes cooked and ready for her beforehand."

"Well aren't you the doting little housewife?" Raphael grinned amusingly, the harsh glare Leonardo was throwing his way not even fazing him.

"So she's recovering nicely?" Donatello asked, drumming his fingers against the table while Leonardo set aside a plate holding a rather large stack of pancakes, slapping Michelangelo's hand when the orange-banded turtle made a grab for the top pancake.

"She slept all night without waking up complaining of headaches or nausea, so I assume so. She said her head still felt a little sore, but not nearly as bad as it had last night. Other than that, she claims to feel fine."

"So where'd you wind up sleeping?" Mikey asked, whisking the eggs in the pan while they crackled and cooked.

Leonardo's cheeks flushed at the sudden question as the remnants of last night slowly drifted back into his subconscious. He wasn't planning on falling asleep with Sam in his arms. After all, she had instructed for him to stay by her side until she had fallen asleep, giving him the option to head to bed himself. But the breathtaking smell of her auburn-tinted hair and the warmth of her body beckoned him to stay, lulling the blue-banded turtle into a peaceful slumber that awarded him with pleasant dreams and a content smile when he had awoken. Well, minus the fact that he fell off the couch once he realized him and Sam had slept together. But other than that, it was the best damn sleep he had in a while….

Shaking the thoughts out of his head for the moment, Leo cleared his throat, handing over a spatula so that Michelangelo could scoop the eggs and put them in a bowl. "I slept on the recliner next to the couch. I didn't want Sam wandering aimlessly trying to find our rooms if she woke up with a headache or any other type of discomfort, so I made sure to stay by her side just in case."

"I still can't believe you kept sneaking off to go see her a secret from us," said Mikey, waiting until Leo wasn't looking before he quickly snatched a pancake from the plate and shoved it in his mouth with an accomplished smile before Leo was able to make a grab for its retrieval. He shot the orange-banded turtle an annoyed glare while Donatello spoke, his chin cradled on top of his palm while his elbow rested on the table.

"You were aware of the fact that Casey did have intentions to introduce us to Sam later down the road while she adjusted to the city, correct?" He asked, hearing Raphael snort derogatorily next to him.

"Guess Fearless here couldn't wait." He grinned, leaning over his chair with feral interest. "C'mon, Leo, spill. What exactly would you two do whenever you'd go visit her? Did she ever invite ya to her room?" He waggled his eye ridges suggestively.

_Do you … do you want to come inside? We could maybe watch a movie together in my room. _

Leonardo involuntarily shook the thoughts out of his head, his face feeling as though it were on fire before he answered his brother, feeling a nasty feeling in his stomach as he lied through his teeth. "N-No. We just—would talk. That's all."

"Chicken shit." Raph grumbled, his eardrums perking at the sound of light footsteps walking toward the kitchen.

"Who's a chicken shit?" Sam asked, ruffling her hair with the towel she had used to dry off before letting it set on her shoulders.

An array of damp, sporadic curls spilled around the frame of her face like trickling, almost copper-toned waterfalls, making Leo's heart thump wildly inside his chest as he stood and stared, too stunned for words. The ripped shirt she had tied together at the top – seeing as it was split from the collar downward – and turned around so that the large opening in the middle only revealed her back rather than her stomach was discarded and replaced with a shirt Leo had given her before she stepped into the shower.

While Leo and his brothers weren't too fond of clothes to begin with – only wearing them whenever they felt the need to go out to buy groceries or to go see a movie from time to time – they still kept their own personal set, which were usually old clothes handed down to them by Casey or clothes April would buy for them at the local thrift shops. Although Leo didn't have very many clothes to begin with, he still managed to find a shirt for Sam to wear until she headed back home where she could slip in to something more comfortable and that would actually fit her. However, Leonardo wasn't expecting Sam to look just as beautiful in the large, plain navy-blue shirt he had given her, which she tied at the hem in a side knot so that it wasn't dangling down past her hips and the collar slanted to the side to show off the top part of her shoulder, making the blue-banded turtle gulp nervously at the exposed skin.

Noticing the awkward silence, Michelangelo took the opportunity to grab the plate of stacked pancakes and held them out for Sam to see – a large smile spread across his face.

"Hope you like pancakes! Leo made 'em, so you know they're gonna be awesome since he doesn't even make pancakes for us."

"_Mikey_." Leo growled, his shoulders relaxing some when he noticed the prominent smile spreading across Sam's face.

"I love pancakes!" She exclaimed, heading toward the cabinets with her bare feet shuffling across the concrete floor. "Where do you guys keep your plates?"

"I-I'll grab one for you. Have a seat and I'll serve you a plate. Are eggs, bacon, and hash browns fine along with your pancakes? The toast should be ready in a few seconds." He rushed, cursing himself for the nervous stutter in his voice. All he was doing was serving Sam breakfast. What the heck was there to be nervous about?

"That all sounds very appetizing. Thank you, Leonardo." Sam smiled, making Leo's heart flutter jubilantly before he turned around to grab her a plate.

"Did you want anything to drink?" Don had asked, figuring he should be polite and hospitable to their new guest as he walked over toward the coffee maker to brew his fix of caffeine.

Sam perked up and nodded her head eagerly once she saw the purple-banded turtle making his way toward the coffee brewer. "I'll take a cup of Joe, if you don't mind. April's slowly starting to get me addicted to coffee ever since she introduced me to the wonders of Starbucks."

"You too, huh?" Raph chuckled, jabbing his thumb in Donnie's direction while the purple-banded turtle leaned against the counter, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. "Donnie here can't even function now without havin' his cup of mud in the mornin' thanks to April."

"Word of warning, dudette," Mikey called out from over his shoulder while he fixed himself a plate. "Do _not _go near Donnie in the mornings unless he has a mug in his hand. Otherwise, the results won't be pretty."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sam giggled, looking up Donatello as he poured two cups of the dark liquid, making sure to grab the cream and sugar in case Sam wasn't fond of taking it black.

"So yer Casey's cousin, huh?" Raph asked, his arm slung back to rest at the top of his chair. "Funny. Ya don't look like him or have his—eh, distinct charm."

Sam shrugged, taking a seat next to the red-banded turtle. "Guess it comes with growing up in the city. Northampton's _way_ different than how it is over here. Everyone's very polite and smiley, but over here, I think I've gotten the stink eye from at least fifty bystanders just for walking down the street."

"Yeah, the city ain't exactly known for its hospitality. That's why we're out their cleanin' up the streets and takin' down any fuckers who think they can get away with whatever crime they decide to commit."

"Raph, we have a guest," Leo hissed, holding an overly filled plate of food that made Sam's mouth water. "Clean up your language."

"It's cool, Leo." Sam smiled, tearing her eyes away from her plate to look up at her guardian. "Casey runs his mouth so much that April made up a swear jar for him. I'm sure if I were to dip into that thing, I could buy myself a pair of blades in every color of the rainbow." Her eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh! Speaking of blades, did I tell you I made the team?"

"You did? That's wonderful!" Leo smiled, setting Sam's plate before her while he took a seat next to her.

Donatello raised a curious eye ridge, as did his brothers until Mikey piped up while pulling out his chair to take a seat. "What team? You try out for cheerleading or something?"

"Ick, no." Sam giggled, picking up her fork before digging in to her plate. "Jam Skating. It's like break dancing but with skates on. It's really cool and a lot of fun. Quite a challenge too for someone who's more used to ice skates." She nudged Leo in the arm playfully, offering him a distinct smile. "Your brother here actually helped me practice."

Raphael couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter, staring up at Leo with wide eyes and a shocked grin that nearly took up his whole face. "No fuckin' way! Leo? _Dancin'_? What'd he do, teach ya to fall on yer ass with honor and grace?"

"Or how to pop and lock like you have a stick up your butt?" Mikey grinned, receiving a fist bump from Raph while the two chuckled uncontrollably.

Leo cringed, feeling himself molding against his chair in embarrassment until Sam placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, offering him a smile before turning to his brothers. "For your information, Leo's a great dancer. And I'm sure you two have no room to talk. Unless you wanna put your money where your mouths are." She raised a challenging eyebrow.

"You're on!" Mikey crowed, taking a swig of his milk before slamming it on the table to show he wasn't scared at all. He knew he could dance and if Raph refused to join in on the fun, Mikey knew exactly the right words to say to get his hotheaded brother to do pretty much anything. Either that or he could always dip into his arsenal of blackmail. He knew he had at least a couple of offensive porn magazines in his room somewhere that he stole from Raphael's closet. One wave to Master Splinter and Raph would be on bathroom duty for an entire month!

It was enough to make the orange-banded turtle chuckle deviously.

"So, Leo told me he had brothers, but he never mentioned what you guys are like. For instance, how did you guys—uhm, I guess become what you are today? Science experiment gone wrong?"

"I guess you can say that," said Donatello, handing Sam her cup while Leo took a seat next to her. "You see, we started off as just regular turtles one would find at a local pet store. While walking back home, our owner accidentally dropped us and, coincidentally, a canister of radioactive ooze just so happened to break and mix in with our bodies. We were found by Master Splinter – who was also just an average sewer rat – and he took us in as his sons. As time went by, we noticed the ooze had changed us both physically and mentally, offering us the ability to move and obtain the thought process of average humans. The rest is just inconsequential niceties."

"Sounds like something straight out of a comic book," Sam pointed out, taking a sip of her coffee before deciding it needed a few more spoonfuls of sugar. "So why do you call him 'Master Splinter'? He's like your dad, right, so shouldn't you refer to him as 'father'?"

"He does fill in the role as our father, yes, but he's also referred to as our sensei for a particular reason." Leo explained. "You see, before he came to New York, Master Splinter was the pet rat of a trained ninja master known as Hamato Yoshi. Whenever Yoshi would train or practice his katas, Master Splinter would watch and mimic his movements, slowly learning the art himself, which he passed down to us. However, after the life of Hamato Yoshi had been taken by the sinister acts of Oroku Saki – a rival ninja master and leader of the malevolent Foot Clan – Master Splinter fled to the sewers, having nowhere else to go. The day he found us and noticed we were all doubling in size after the accident with the ooze, he saw it as an opportunity to avenge the death of his master and trained us in the art of ninjutsu so that when we crossed paths, we would…"

He paused, noticing the slight widening of Sam's eyes as she clung to his every word, making the blue-banded turtle mentally debate with himself on whether or not to inform her of Master Splinter's _true _intentions as to why he trained them in the art of ninjutsu. After all, the whole point of their teachings was so that they would one day put an end to the Shredder, ending his existence once and for all—which they had. But something in the back of his mind didn't want to scare Sam off, giving her the impression that he and his brothers were stone cold killers, because they _weren't_. They were just abiding by their sensei's wishes so that there would be peace with the Hamato Clan once again.

Clearing his throat and wetting his lips before he spoke, Leonardo continued with his explanation, offering Sam a meek smile while choosing the latter option. "So that we would be able to hold our own against anything Oroku Saki may dish out."

"Wow," Sam breathed before her shoulders sagged almost dejectedly. "My condolences to your sensei. I'm sure Hamato Yoshi was a great man."

Leonardo bowed his head in thanks before Sam offered him a smile, her eyes flicking from Leo to each of his brothers before she spoke again. "So you're all like well-trained martial artists?"

"You know it, toots." Raphael grinned while Mikey rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Pssh, well-trained martial artists? More like ninja _masters_!" Mikey exclaimed, flexing a bicep while offering Sam a playful wink.

She giggled amusingly before looking back and forth at all three turtles. "So, what should I call you guys? Do you all share similar names to Leonardo? You know, deriving from Renaissance painters?"

"Yes," Donatello answered, taking another sip from his coffee. "Master Splinter took it upon himself to name us all after artists from the Renaissance period after finding a book about said painters somewhere in the sewers. I'm named after the Italian sculptor, Donatò di Noccolo di Betto Bardi, who also went by the name 'Donatello'. Raphael is named after the Italian painter and architect, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino and Michelangelo is named after Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni – the famous Italian sculptor, poet, and engineer."

Michelangelo winked at the mention of his name, jabbing a thumb in his direction before stating, "I'm the cute one", making Sam giggle before she initiated a low whistle – her eyes wide with blatant intimidation.

"Those all sound like quite the mouthfuls."

"We go by nicknames too," Don stated, watching as Leo grabbed Sam's empty plate while politely asking if she was finished before he took it to the sink. "If 'Donatello' is too much to say, you can always call me 'Don' or 'Donnie'."

"'Raph' is cool with me," said Raphael, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his plastron.

"And you can call me 'Mikey'." Michelangelo piped up, making Sam giggle as she surveyed the brothers one by one.

"Those should be simple to remember. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey. I think I got it." She smiled, taking one more sip of her coffee before placing the mug on the table with a determined grin. "So who's ready to bust a move?"

(-)

"You sure you want to sit this one out, Donnie?" Sam asked, skimming through her music library on her phone.

The purple-banded turtle was seated at his computer chair near his 'work space', helping Sam hook up her phone and connecting the speakers to his desktop. While Michelangelo was adamant of making them _all _participate in dancing, Donatello chose to sit this one out, not even budging when Mikey had threatened to show Master Splinter what he did on the computer when it wasn't work-related. He had nothing to worry about. All he had to do was delete the history and viola, there goes Mikey's proof. Besides, he was much more interested in watching his brothers make fools of themselves while they got schooled by a girl.

"I'm perfectly fine with watching," said Don, resting his chin in his palm lazily, noticing the devious grin splayed across Sam's face.

"Well then you can be in charge of DJing. I already picked my song, but feel free to skim through my library and choose whatever suits your fancy for your brothers. Might I suggest some Britney Spears for Mister Tough Guy Raphael?"

"Oh, you are an evil one, Miss Samantha Jones." Donnie grinned, taking Sam's phone while she skipped toward the others, her grin never faltering from her face as she did a few light stretches.

"So, what're the stakes, boys?"

"How 'bout the loser has to do whatever the winners say for the rest of the day?" Raphael grinned, nudging Leo in the plastron with a wriggle of his eye ridge. "I can think of a couple things she can do for you that'll satisfy the both of ya, big bro."

"How about we keep things family friendly," Leo growled, his cheeks darkening slightly in slight embarrassment. He didn't even want to think about what Raphael had in mind if Sam were to follow every command they threw at her. No, even if those were the stakes, he'd never allow Sam to go through such degrading standards all because of a bet. He respected her and no amount of goading from Raph or blackmail from Mikey would ever change the blue-banded turtle's mind. They would just have to pick something else to wager with.

"How about the loser buys the winner a pizza of their choosing?" Leo suggested, watching Mikey's baby blue eyes widen at the mention of their favorite dish.

"I second that!" He raised his hand, smacking his lips in hunger while Raphael rolled his eyes and grunted – his arms crossed over his plastron before muttering his approval of the wager.

"Alright, pizza it is then. I hope you boys have enough money for an extra large deep-dish pizza with extra everything." She grinned, her hands on her hips while she twisted her upper body to make sure she was limber and loose before their dance battle began.

"Oh trust me, we're not the ones who're gonna be breaking the bank, Sammie. I hope Casey at least gives you a decent allowance." Mikey chuckled, cracking his knuckles and doing a few quick jumps to pump himself up.

The orange-banded turtle stood a few steps forward from where Leo and Raph stood, volunteering to go up against Sam first, which the two brothers gladly accepted without protest. While Don had gotten lucky being able to sit the battle out and Raph being blackmailed into dancing alongside him and Mikey, Leo thought about where he stood and realized even if Mikey had something to blackmail him with, the blue-banded turtle probably still would've accepted Sam's challenge, whether his brothers laughed at him or not. Ever since that fateful night in the alleyway where he and Sam shared their first dance together, Leo had become addicted to the residual high he got from allowing his body the freedom to release itself from its prison – a prison that did nothing but weigh him down with the burdens of honor and responsibility. Dancing truly was art for the body and Leo was determined to step into that world he and Sam shared – their eyes locked while their bodies became in tune with one another's soul.

He glanced up at the girl flooding his thoughts and felt a light pang inside his chest when she flashed him a smile, mouthing the words 'good luck' before Don pressed play on her phone. The sound of a soft serenade echoed through the speakers, followed by a chorus of old school sounding beats that had Leo wracking his brain to figure out what song Sam had chosen. By the way Mikey was tapping his foot and bobbing his head, Leo figured it was a song his brother was familiar with and only until the lyrics started coming into play did Leo realize it was Madcon's cover version of 'Beggin'.

Sam started off with a few snapping motions as if she were tossing a series of throwing stars with each step she took, followed by a turn and dip that brought her down to a crouching position. With her hand on her head, she moved her legs in an out in a butterfly motion, making Leo's eyes widen before she popped back up and started moving her hips, her arms spread out as if offering a gift before she winked at the blue-banded turtle and spun.

With a gulp, Leo continued to watch the beauty before him glide across the floor, watching her feet carry her body as if she were made out of air, capturing his attention with the way her hips swayed. He could feel something nudge against his arm and he glanced over to see Raphael flashing him a knowing grin before he reached a hand underneath Leo's chin and clamped his mouth shut.

"Ease up on the drool there, Leo. Yer gonna wind up floodin' the whole lair."

"Shut up." Leo growled, his shoulders sagging with disappointment when he realized Sam had finished her dance, bowing politely with her arms extended in an offering for Mikey to begin his dance.

"Think you can top that?" Sam grinned, watching as Mikey bobbed his head from side to side to loosen his neck before springing at the balls of his feet in determination.

"Just sit back and watch how a pro gets down on the dance floor," he said, waiting for Donnie to change the song before he got a feel for the beat and began his routine.

The sound of a keyboard key being hit repeatedly could be heard blaring through the speakers and at first, Mikey had to perk his head slightly in order to recognize the beat. Sam's lips immediately began to curve into a grin before she watched realization strike the orange-banded turtle's face, his baby blue eyes growing a fraction of an inch before he pointed an accusing finger at Donatello.

"Not cool, bro! You know Lady Gaga freaks me out." Mikey growled, his eye ridges narrowing dangerously when he saw his brainiac brother offer him an innocent shrug.

"I put the playlist on shuffle, so don't blame me." He chuckled, making Michelangelo think the purple-banded turtle was lying through his teeth by the distinct twinkle in his muddy brown eyes. Donnie always was the worst liar out of all of them. "Be happy you don't have to dance to Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift. So do what the song says and _just dance_." He grinned, emphasizing the last two words to make a joke, but Michelangelo wasn't laughing.

Not wanting to lose the bet when the contest had just started, Michelangelo swallowed what little pride he had and brought his arm up, popping his chest once before taking a step forward and moving his body side to side in almost a wave formation. Getting a feel for the music, he brought his arms up and moved them in a half-circular motion above his head, reminding Leo of a tai chi demonstration before Mikey crisscrossed his legs and started stepping from left to right, adding in a little hip motion that made Raphael burst into laughter.

"Oh shit, somebody should be filmin' this! This is rich!" He howled, resting his hand on top of Leo's arm while the blue-banded turtle looked down at his brother in warning.

"Don't forget you have to go up there and dance too," Leo added, watching as Raphael wiped away at an invisible tear before grinning up at him, his arms crossed over his plastron defiantly. However, before the red-banded turtle was able to speak, the sound of clapping caught both Leo and Raph's attention as cheering impressively while Mikey was down on the floor with his leg bent up and his head rested on the palm of his hand while he lay in a sideways position – the typical way break-dancers usually ended their routine. Or, at least that's how Leo perceived it in the movies.

"Not bad," Sam complimented, helping Mikey up before she turned her attention to Raphael. "Alright, tough guy, you're up!"

"This should be interesting." Leo teased, feeling Raphael shove his shoulder a little too rough to be playful as he walked toward the 'dance floor', stretching his arms while Sam grinned at him cheekily.

"Nervous?"

The hothead scoffed, flashing her a toothy grin. "You wish, sweetheart."

Donatello eyed his older brother wickedly before scrolling through Sam's playlist, landing on a song that gave him a little taste of what Lex Luther felt like on a regular basis. Without hesitation, he pressed play, hearing the almost sensually striking beats of the beginning come into play and it wasn't long before Raphael's honey hazel eyes widened to the size of dinner plates while Michelangelo groaned as if he were gypped five bucks at the liquor store.

"Ah, come on, Donnie! I _so _would've danced to this song rather than Lady Gaga's music."

"Oh fuck no!" Raphael swore, his teeth ground to the point where Don thought they were going to crack underneath the forced pressure. "Fuck you, Don! I am _not _dancin' to 'Sexy Back'!"

"So you forfeit?" Sam asked with a grin, leaning forward just a tad for emphasis. "Or are you too chicken to dance to a little Justin Timberlake?"

Raphael opened his mouth to protest, but immediately snapped it back shut before glancing over at Mikey, who in return offered him a devious grin and wriggle of his eye ridge, as if silently goading the red-banded turtle that if he did in fact forfeit, then that meant he'd go running off waving his mags to Master Splinter and Raphael wouldn't be able to go topside for a while.

Fuck that noise! If it weren't for his Nightwatcher guise, Raphael would've gone stir-crazy sitting around the house doing nothing until Leo decided to bring his happy ass back from Mexico—or wherever the hell he went. Now that the Nightwatcher was no more, Raphael had no way of hiding under the damn nosey eyes of the news crew who were always scoping the streets looking for a good story to air. So help him if Master Splinter just so happened to catch his son on TV patrolling the streets when he wasn't supposed to.

That only left him with one other option….

"You better not tell yer cousin about this or so help me." He left it at that, making Sam fold her arms over her chest while she watched the hotheaded turtle take a deep breath and begin to move.

It took all of Leo's self-control not to laugh watching his normally rigid brother flow in what he had to admit were graceful popping movements as he jerked and bopped to the beat of the music. He could see the tightness in Raphael's lips as he tried not to pay too much attention to the lyrics, which Leo had to admit were rather raunchy and sexual, making him wonder if Sam had a lot of songs that were like this.

The thought immediately escaped Leo as he watched Raphael make a fool of himself while trying to salvage up whatever dignity he had left. He managed to last almost as long as Mikey had when he was forced to dance to Lady Gaga, throwing in a few flips and handsprings that familiarized with their katas, making Leo forget that Raphael was dancing and not fighting an invisible army as he threw in a few strategically crafted blows and strikes that made Sam's eyes widen impressively.

Leo didn't know why, but he felt another pang strike him at the pit of his stomach, only this wasn't a fluttery pang, but more like a blow to the gut as he watched Sam clap and cheer after Raph had ended his routine, praising him on his moves. Sure, they were good but they weren't _that _good….

"Alright, Leo, I'll go a little easy on you," said Donnie, scrolling through Sam's playlist before pressing play, the sound of electronic club music blaring through the speakers, making Sam's eyes widen with excitement as she let out a small squeal.

"Oh, my God, I forgot I had this song on my phone!" She exclaimed, grabbing on to Leo's wrist and dragging him close to her. "C'mon, Leo, we'll dance to this one together."

"Hey, you can't dance twice! That's against the rules," Mikey barked, making Sam raise a challenging eyebrow at the youngest turtle before wagging her finger back and forth.

"We never established any rules, now did we?" She winked, giving Leo's wrists another tug before she took a few steps back and began to move, swaying her hips in a sinuous motion as she let her body carrying itself to the beat of the music.

_Turn up the music cause this song just came on_

_Turn up the music if they try to turn us down_

_Turn up the music can I hear it till the speakers blow_

_Turn up the music, fill your cup and drink it down_

At first, Leo just stood his ground and stared, mesmerized by Sam's dancing until he snapped himself out of it, wanting eagerly to join her in the world they built just for the two of them on that fateful night. Loosening his limbs, he let out a shaky breath before letting his body do what it wanted, moving the way it wanted and letting his feet carry him through the concrete in a series of shuffled motions.

Catching Sam's attention, she flashed him a proud smile, spinning on the balls of her feet with her hair whipping through the air, spilling over her shoulders while she shuffled backward, beckoning for Leo to follow. He obliged obediently and it wasn't long before their movements synchronized into one elegant flow of movements, making everyone's eyes widen in both shock and awe. Not only was their brother dancing, but he was dancing so _well _that it was almost like him and Sam had choreographed the routine the previous night, practicing when to dip and when to turn, making it look like a scene out of 'Dancing With the Stars'. They were just so … in sync.

Raphael couldn't help but gruff amusingly, glancing over at Mikey with a lopsided smile. "Who woulda thunk it. Fearless really can dance."

"Alright, Leo!" Mikey cheered, but his ovation only fell on deaf ears as Leo became captivated in Sam's movements, no longer letting the music instruct his body on how to move.

Like observing an opponent in the heat of battle, he watched Sam's form intently, not necessarily mimicking her routine, but picking up on how she moved and which direction she jerked her body. It was like he was looming over her, but she didn't mind. In fact, she welcomed it with open arms as she spun around and pressed her body close to her guardian's, letting Leo grab onto her hands and directing her body the way he wanted – his leader instincts taking over for a brief moment as they glided, swerved, and spun together.

Too quickly for both their taste, the song began to draw to a close and Leo instantly, an idea struck the blue-banded turtle's thoughts. Pressing Sam's body as close to him as he could, he stared into her pools of green, offering her a warm smile before extending his arm and spinning her like a top, watching her hair swirl in a blur of tinted strands of dark chocolate and cherry red before he dipped her, catching Sam off guard. His hand rested securely on the scare of her back and he couldn't help but chuckle as she stared up at him wide eyed, his body hovering over her while her lips curved into a satisfied grin.

"Not bad, Twinkle Toes," she mocked, her chest heaving up and down breathlessly in the same out-of-breath pattern as Leo's.

"Likewise." Leo grinned, staring into Sam's hypnotizing irises while the two came down from their high, the grins plastered on their faces never faltering even just a tad as sweat slowly trickled down their tired bodies. It was almost euphoric and if Raphael hadn't noisily cleared his throat to snap them out of their reverie, they probably would've stayed like that forever.

"Ya want us to give you two ten minutes?" He grinned, making both Leo and Sam blush bashfully before they straightened themselves up, Sam staring fascinatingly at the ground while Leo rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment. However, the two managed to steal a quick glance at each other, offering the other a warm smile until the sound of the lair's secret entrance doors could be heard opening, making everyone stare in the direction of whoever decided to grace them with their presence this morning.

"Uhh, mornin'." Casey waved sheepishly, his hands shoved inside his jacket pockets. "Mind if I come in?"

* * *

Bum, bum, buuuuuummmmmm! Uh-oh, now Casey's gonna have face Sam after his whole confession the other night. Hopefully Sam's still not pissed off - if she still remembers what happened. o.o I'm pretty sure Casey would give up a few bats and hockey sticks if it meant Sam forgot that little detail of him telling her he's a vigilante. But then that would've bring in any drama. XD Haha!

Before I forget, I wanna thank **Laurenadel story's **again for suggesting the song Leo and Sam dance to, which is "Turn Up the Music" by Chris Brown. I literally had it stuck in my head throughout my entire shift at work more than Justin Timberlake's song "My Love" - which was the song that I was ORIGINALLY gonna have Sam and Leo dance to. But, I thought "Turn Up the Music" sounded more upbeat and the chorus reminds me of two people dancing very in sync with each other, which is what I wanted for Leo and Sam. :) But don't worry, readers, I'm sure "My Love" will be popping up somewhere else in this chapter. No spoilers. ;) Heehee.

Whelp! Y'all know what to do! Send me your thoughts, questions, concerns, queries, quibbles, and anything else I forgot to mention by clicking that review button right below this chapter. :D I'll catch everyone next time and like a teenage girl stalking One Direction's Twitter, I'll be looking out for any reviews you readers just so happen to send me. Don't be shy! ;D

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


	14. A Vigilante's Purpose

**Author's**** Note****: **I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. ;) So so so so_ so _sorry, readers! Dx I understand it's been WAY past my ten day deadline, but I have a multiple amount of reasons as to why I've taken so long to update for this chapter. Mainly, I blame school for taking away all my free time as well as work. (Haven't had a day off since last Wednesday. Dx) But, I think the main reason as to why I haven't updated to this story in a while is because I've been attacked by a hoard of horrifically cute plot bunnies! x3 This is truly an exciting moment for me, seeing as I haven't had this many creative ideas pop into my head since I was in high school. :) I've already have an idea planned out for another TMNT chapter fic, so keep a look out for that, readers. :D If you're interested, it's about Leo's time in Central America where he befriends a rather brash young Honduran woman. Yes, there will be romance, because Leo's my favorite turtle, he gets all the girls. Haha! ;D But to avoid any confusion, that story will have absolutely no tie-ins with this one, because in THIS story, Leo's heart (and eventually body ;D) will strictly belong to Sam and Sam only. :) I'm already writing out the first chapter, but I figured I'd update to this story first before I continue on with anything else. Don't wanna keep you lovely readers hanging because you guys have been nothing but supportive and amazingly awesome that it'd be downright cruel to post a completely different story before I update to this one. So, here you go. :D

Now, before we get on with the chapter, I'd like to thank my lovely reviewers. :D Thank you so much to **SleepingSeeker**, **adventuresstime**, **clary2008**, **CrazyGeekyLove**, and **Enimul**. You guys rock and keep the reviews coming! They're what fuel my passion to write. :D Also, I'd like to point out a few things to both **CrazyGeekyLove **and **Enimul**. I love hearing input from readers about their thoughts and little guesses on to who's going to be paired up with who. :) To avoid spoilers, I'm just going to say your guys' assumptions are pretty much right on the dot. **CrazyGeekyLove**, don't doubt yourself too soon. You never know what direction this story might twist and turn. ;D We'll get to see more of Renee's personality later on in the story and as we learn more about her, I'm sure it'll get clearer and clearer on what role she's going to play in this story. ;) I really wish I could say more, but I'm keeping my lips sealed. You'll just have to wait and find out. Mwahaha! XD And finally, to **SleepingSeeker**, I'm sorry I haven't had time to just sit down and read, but I promise I'll get to reading your stories real soon! I'm a sucker for anything that has to do with Leo and/or Raph. They're my two favorite turtles, after all. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about those two titles you mentioned. ;)

Alright! Without any further delays, I hope you like this chapter! It's rather short, but I promise the next chapter will be much longer! You have my word. ;)

Enjoy the fic!

* * *

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

"**The Waiting Ones"**

**Chapter 13**

**A Vigilante's Purpose**

* * *

He'd fought an army of Purple Dragons.

He'd faced countless Foot Ninja grouped by the dozens.

He'd stared death in the face, standing his ground with nothing but a golf bag filled with wooden bats, hockey sticks, and the occasional golf club—although he preferred the thicker, wood shaven weapons of choice because he loved the way they cracked when bashing them against his enemy's skulls.

Casey Jones was one tough, brute vigilante who could take on any challenge thrown his way. Yet here he stood, quaking in his mud-coated, over-worn track shoes as he stared into the burning emerald eyes of his younger cousin – fear palpitating in his chest.

"Uhh, mornin', fellas." Casey waved sheepishly, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets until he felt he was going to rip the stitching. He kicked at an invisible object before taking a cautious step further inside the lair, his eyes scanning to each turtle all while trying to avoid the searing gaze he knew Sam was throwing his way. "Mind if I come in?"

"You're already _in_, so there's no point in asking, Case." Sam bit acidly, her arms folded over her chest in a defiant manner as she shifted her posture. She took a quick glance in the direction of the kitchen, but those emerald irises of hers never faltered in their blazing gaze of molten resentment as she surveyed her cousin before opening her mouth to speak. "Wasn't expecting you so early. Don't you have work?"

"I called in sick just in case you still weren't feelin' too well," Casey explained, taking one more cautious step toward Sam before he noticed her eyes narrowing into an even colder glower.

"I'm fine." She growled through clenched teeth.

"How's your head?"

"It's _fine_, now leave me alone! I was having a nice time with the guys until you decided to show up and remind me about how I was deceived the other night by my own flesh and blood. Now do me a favor and just get the hell—"

"—Sam, calm down," Leo urged, placing a gentle hand atop of Sam's shoulder. He could feel the rigidness seeping through the fabric that covered her skin and it nearly made Leo draw his hand back in fear that such contact would cause her to snap. She didn't, thank God, but he could still trace the opposing shivers coming from her body, her hands clenched into knuckle-whitening fists as she desperately tried to compose herself – eyes narrowed, teeth bared, and stance stiff. It pained Leo to see Sam in these conditions and knowing there wasn't really anything he could do to ease her into a relaxed state of mind brought up his own form of tension emanating from his shoulders. However, the blue-banded turtle quelled these heightening emotions with a calming breath and turned Sam toward him, her face softening into a questioning glance before he offered her a small smile.

"I know you're angry, but arguing is doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire. What Casey chooses to do with his life was a decision he made for himself, not for anyone else. It may sound selfish and unfair, but he has his reasoning's, Sam and I'm sure if you just set aside your hurt and anger just for a few brief moments, he'd explain why he kept you and his family in the dark all these years."

He glanced over at Casey, who in return looked back at Leo with a mixture of hope and uncertainty swimming in his dark eyes. Without exchanging a word, the blue-banded turtle turned his attention back to Sam, who was no longer looking at her guardian, but over at her cousin, her eyes narrowed not with anger, but with something else Leo couldn't quite detect, almost as if she were mulling something over in her head that was making her both frustrated and yet buoyant. It was a start and Leo could feel his lips tugging into an accomplished smile before he nudged Sam in the direction where Casey stood, offering her an approving nod.

With a sigh, she followed her guardian's silent instructions and looked up at Casey, her shoulders sinking just the slightest bit before she glanced over her shoulder. "I'll give you a call when our little chat is over. Uhm, you guys have cell phones, right?"

"Shell Cell's." Donatello spoke, pulling out his own for Sam to get a visual perspective of what he was talking about. "They're basically shell-shaped communicators that are programmed to April and Casey's phones for dual purposes. I can patch you into our network, but I'm gonna need your cell phone in order to do so."

"Awesome. I'll just give you guys a call when our little chat is over." She grinned. "After all, you guys still owe me pizza."

"Hey, no way! We never determined a winner!" Mikey piped up, pointing an accusing finger at Sam before she chuckled amusingly and glanced down at Leo, the features in her face softening into a relaxing smile. "See you later, then?"

"Y-Yeah. See you later." Leo stuttered, watching as Sam offered him a little wave before following Casey out of the lair, the mechanical doors swooshing open before finally swooshing back closed.

"Alright, I gotta give you mad props, Leo. You sure know how to pick a smokin' hot babe." Mikey grinned, slapping Leo on the shell while he wrapped his arm around over his shoulders and poked his face teasingly. "Think you can find me a girl? Ooh! Maybe Sam has some hot friends she can introduce us to! Donnie, check her contacts!"

"We are _not _snooping through Sam's phone just for your own personal needs, Mikey. That's incredibly disrespectful," Leo argued, wiggling his way out of his younger brother's grasp while shooting him a warning glare.

"Pfft, you wanna talk about respect, Leo? Last I checked, droolin' over a girl with yer eyes ready to pop out of yer skull while she dances isn't what I'd call 'respectful'." He emphasized the word with air quotes, grinning wickedly at the way his brother squirmed at the rather embarrassing actions that were still fresh in Leo's mind.

"I totally caught that, bro. You're lucky you didn't wind up with a stiffy. Talk about awkward." Michelangelo laughed, gracefully moving out of the way when Leo made a lunge for him, the blush radiating from his cheeks only making the orange-banded turtle laugh even harder. "Seriously though, I'm mad jealous of you right now, Leo. Sam seems like a nice girl. Not to mention she moves like friggin' Shakira. Those hips can lie to me all night long."

"_Mikey_!" Leo growled before Michelangelo let out one last chuckle.

"Relax, Leo, I'm just pulling your leg. I'd never hit on my bro's girlfriend. I know my limits."

"She's not my girlfriend," he said through clenched teeth before straightening himself up. "And I'd appreciate it if you cease the raunchy remarks, both in front of Sam as well as when she's not in the room. She's a friend and she deserves the exact same respect we give to both Casey and April. That goes for everyone."

"Are you actually going to follow your own advice this time, Leo, or is this authoritative speech just for shits and giggles?" Don asked, fiddling with Sam's phone while also handling a few adjustments to his own Shell Cell, not even giving Leo a sideways glance to emphasize how serious he was with this sudden point of the matter.

"I show Sam respect just like I do with Casey and April."

"Oh, really? Because if memory serves, I don't recall you ever sleeping with Casey or April." Don grinned, this time glancing over at Leo with a devious glint in his muddy brown eyes that made Leo's body go completely stiff.

"_What_?" Mikey and Raph shouted, their eyes locked on their older brother before rushing to his side as if he were going to take off and hide in his room.

"You _slept _with Sam?" Mikey emphasized, his eyes wide with both excitement and curiosity.

"Oh, gross! It better not have been on the goddamn couch! I swear to God, Leo, if I wind up sittin' in a glob of your own jizz, I'm gonna—"

"—I didn't sleep with Sam!" Leo cried, his cheeks now darkened into the deepest shade of red, it was almost a maroon. He looked up at Don, who was still busy fiddling with Sam's cell phone before he glared daggers at the brainiac turtle for insinuating him and Sam delved into sexual intercourse the other night. With his lips pursed, Leo pointed an accusing finger at Donatello, his voice raised to a rather high-pitched squeak before he forced himself to calm his rattling nerves. "H-How did you know Sam asked for me to sleep beside her the other night?"

"I didn't." Don shrugged. "I was just taking a shot in the dark to see if I could get a reaction. Looks like the odds turned in my favor."

"You sneaky son of a bitch." Raph chuckled, folding his arms over his plastron. He could practically feel Leo's anger radiating from his body while Mikey shook his head both amazed and slightly disappointed.

"Donnie, you're one conniving little asshole."

"Just doing my job."

* * *

"Alright, we're here, you have my attention, so let's hurry up and get this over with." Sam plopped herself on the couch, her feet propped up against the coffee table with her arms folded over her chest, flashing Casey a rather impatient look.

The vigilante stood his ground, his hands fidgeting and his eyes darting back and forth. "You're not hungry or anything? I can whip us up some toaster waffles and—"

"Save it, Case. I already ate back at the lair. Now quit stalling and tell me why you've kept this whole vigilante double life a secret for so long. I mean, I know another nickname for New York City is Gotham City, but that doesn't give you a free pass to don a mask and take to the streets like you're friggin' Batman. This isn't a comic book, Casey."

"I know, Sam, I know." His shoulders sank, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips before Casey took a seat next to his cousin, pinching the bridge of his nose while he gathered up his thoughts and let them jumble inside his head before he decided on how to approach this situation as delicately as possible. He knew in due time, he was going to have this talk with Sam whether he wanted to or not. Then again, the vigilante figured he would've had more time to prepare rather than spew everything out in a series of run-on ramblings that didn't make sense. Sam was already mad at him and Casey didn't want to make matters worse by not getting the message fully across. He wanted things to go smoothly and right now, things weren't going as well as he had hoped. Maybe it would've been a better idea to have Sam hangout with the guys for a little while longer to cool off. At least then Casey would've given himself a little more time to think of something else to say other than the occasional 'uhh' and 'uhm' thrown in every two seconds.

Shit, why was it so much easier pummeling baddies than it was explaining this sort of situation to his younger cousin?

Because she was pissed off that he kept this sort of lifestyle from her, that's why. If only he hadn't yelled at her for running off and getting herself nearly killed by a gang of Purple Dragons. Maybe then this conversation would've been approached differently. But there was nothing else Casey could do, so that only left him with one other option.

Suck it up and just tell her the truth.

"Well?" Sam raised an intolerant eyebrow.

Casey let out one last sigh, running his fingers through his mop of hair while he forced himself to look into Sam's eyes, his heart racing a million miles an hour in his chest before he wet his lips and began to speak. "Do you recall the day your uncle Arnie died, Sam?"

"Of course I don't. I wasn't even born yet, remember?"

"Did your parents ever tell you _how _he died?" Casey asked, searching into Sam's evergreen eyes while she pondered at the thought.

"Dad said he was caught in a shooting. That's why he went above and beyond to try to convince me not to move up here. Says it's way too dangerous, especially for the profession I want to get into."

"Sam, your dad had every intention to keep you safe. The moment your uncle was killed, he put the apartment him and your mom lived in up for sale and moved back to Northampton as quickly as he could. He didn't want to grow up in a city knowing there was a chance either you or your mom or even himself would wind up on the News as another victim caught in the crossfire of gang violence. He just wanted what was best for you … even if it meant keeping you in the dark about certain things."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked slowly, sitting up gradually before Casey continued to speak.

"You're uncle Arnie wasn't caught in a shooting like your dad told you," he explained, taking a moment to pause as he gathered up his thoughts and released them in one swift breath. "He was murdered … in a fire caused by the Purple Dragons."

She stood up, the coffee table nearly knocked over as she bore her teeth in a fierce snarl, her chest heaving up and down frantically. "The Purple Dragons? They're the ones who … who—to _Uncle Arnie_…?"

Casey nodded his head slowly, bringing himself to his feet to place his hands on Sam's shoulders, feeling her body quake with unresolved tension and fury. "Your dad didn't want you to know because he was afraid you would be blinded by anger. He figured if you knew the truth about the death of your uncle, you'd form this solid hatred towards the Purple Dragons that you'd make it your sole mission to take on any case that dealt with one of the most dangerous gangs in all of New York. He was only doing it to protect you, Sam."

"So it's not just you, but Dad's been lying to me too?" She growled, pulling herself away from her cousin's hands, her hands clenched into tight fists.

"Sam, please understand I had every intention to tell you about my double life as a vigilante. I never wanted to keep a secret from you."

"And when exactly _were_ you planning on telling me?" She asked acidly, her eyes narrowed into dark slits.

Casey's shoulders sunk as he brought up a hand to rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, his eyes scanning to the floor almost timidly. "Well, _now_ wasn't exactly the time I had in mind. But I guess there's never going to be a better time, so might as well make it today." He paused, wetting his lips once more before glancing up at his cousin, his eyes soft and careful before he continued to speak in the gentlest of tones he could muster.

"When your uncle Arnie was killed, I wanted nothing more than to put an end to the creeps who burned him alive. I formed a hatred toward anyone who had anything to do with the Purple Dragons and I made it my mission to find them and put a stop to them once and for all, even if I had to scourer all of New York in order to do so. I was blinded by fury, Sam. I had the intent to kill, to do the exact same harm that was brought upon my father – no matter what the consequences. I didn't care whether I got caught or whether I got arrested in the process. All I cared about was revenge."

"Did you get it?" Sam asked, her body stiff, yet she could feel her limbs shaking from the adamant bloodlust her cousin had sought out many years ago. This was her cousin—the same loveable bonehead who would buy her ice cream and walk her to school whenever he came to visit her in Northampton. He wasn't a killer. _Her _Casey would never shed any blood, not even to teach someone a lesson. Was this really her cousin standing before her with pleading eyes? Was this really her Casey Jones?

The vigilante shook his head solemnly and Sam could feel a wash of relief flood her instantaneously. "I never found the fuckers who killed my dad, but that didn't stop me from taking to the streets. I got into a few tussles with a couple of Purple Dragons I would rough up in order to snag any info I could find on my dad's killers. The rush of adrenaline I would get from bashing Purple Dragon skulls was enough to fuel my anger – to satisfy the growing hunger that yearned for revenge. I fell in love with it and I never stopped, no matter what dangerous situations I got myself into. I've had guns pointed at my face, machetes grazing my skin. Hell, I've even gotten stabbed once or twice. But it never scared me away."

He looked up at Sam, watching for any hint of emotion emanating from her evergreen eyes – a flicker of fear, anxiety … interest. When she hadn't said anything, Casey took this as an opportunity to take a step toward her, resting his hands on top of her shoulders and looking her straight in the face, his tone serious and calm.

"This is why I was so hesitant on telling you, Sam. You're dad isn't the only one that can sense your need for justice and peace. The reason why vigilantes are hated by the police so much is because they live by the same code: to honor and protect, no matter what the circumstances. No matter which way you look at it, vigilantes and cops are pretty much the same thing – only a vigilante will go to greater lengths to rid the streets of crime and protect the people of their city. You hold the potential of being a vigilante, Sam and that both excites me … and scares the shit out of me."

"Case, I—" She paused. What else was there to say? Even before she knew how exactly her uncle was killed, Sam always had an interest with cops. She thought it was awesome that they went out and risked their lives to protect people from scumbags like the Purple Dragons and any murderer or rapist or child molester that mucked up the streets. It was what she wanted to be when she grew up – something she could see herself making a career out of. What Casey chose to deal with the crime of the city – that was his decision. It certainly was better than sitting around complaining about it while watching the News and sipping on a cup of coffee. However, it didn't change the way she thought or her decisions on becoming an NYPD cop. She still wanted to graduate from Roosevelt High, she still wanted to attend the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and she still wanted to be a cop. Whether her father's intentions were to keep her in the dark to protect her or another way of preventing her from delving into such a dangerous profession, Sam didn't care. Because her intentions were still the same and nothing was ever going to change that.

Ever.

Clearing his throat, Casey shoved his hands inside his pockets and kept his gaze to the floor, the emanate silence surrounding them in a suffocating chokehold. "So, now you know."

"Let me ask you this," Sam spoke, catching her cousin's attention as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why not just become a cop? Why don the vigilante guise in the first place?"

Casey chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck while his eyes flicked back and forth. "Wasn't smart enough. But you are, Sammie. That's why I support you in whatever decision you make. Nobody can tell you what's best for you. That's for your heart to decide."

"So why the whole mother hen act ever since I moved up here?"

"Because even if you become this big badass cop chick who can snap a guy's neck without so much as batting an eyelash, you're still gonna be my baby cousin." He winced, noticing the dark glare Sam was shooting his way before he cleared his throat apologetically. "I mean, my cousin. I just want you to be careful, Sam. Your dad isn't the only one who's afraid of one day seeing your name on the News."

"So you're okay with me becoming a cop?" She asked, raising a questioning eyebrow before Casey placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I support whatever decision you make, Sammie. Just like a trust you support whatever decision I make."

At first, she didn't say anything, the silence drifting between them like a grazing wind, making Casey slightly nervous until he heard Sam make a quiet, gruff noise. Her lips tugged into an impish grin and as she gazed up at him, Casey could feel the heavy weight lifted off his shoulders before Sam spoke.

"Just don't hog all the action whenever I'm on duty. Got it, Dirty Harry?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Sheriff Jones."

* * *

D'aww. :3 I have to say, I really do like writing interactions between Casey and Sam. Probably because I get along so well with my own cousin. I tried to start you guys off with a splash of humor before we delved into the serious topics, but I made sure to end it on a happy note. Now the next chapter will have room for nothing but silly goofiness and super happy fun times! Haha! XD I'm kidding and yet, I'm not. Let's just say the next chapter will be both a hoot to write for me and a hoot to read for you guys. :) Should be fun, but since I'm also preoccupied with another project, it might take me a while to update again. I'll try not to make it as long as it took to update this chapter. I miss your guys' input too much. TwT

Whelp, as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you find it in your hearts to leave a little review. Whether it be good, bad, short, or long, it always makes me smile when I see a new review for this story. :D Catch you guys later! And as always:

DFTBA!

(Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)


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